South Fork Boise River

[BiggestT]

Briefly: Wife and I fished South Fork of the Boise with buddy Markus on his pontoon boat. Good bite on the foam hoppers late in the day. I farmed my big fish opportunity. Had an estimated 24" rainbow explode on the foam hopper about 2' from the bank. Fish wanted nothing to do with the boat, so we decided to beach it and attempt to land it from the bank. The 5x tippet on the 5wt was ultimately no match for that fish in the current. The last run as it saw the net did me in. A big beautiful fish with a big fat square tail that broke my heart. Absolutely beautiful country. Targeting big browns today on the Owyhee River.

[wildcat]

nothing funner than fishing hoppers this time of year...Look forward to hearing how you did today??

[Mel-S]

Why would you use 5X when fishing foam hoppers??? Was that the only tippet you had with you?

[flygoddess]

Originally Posted by Mel-S

Why would you use 5X when fishing foam hoppers??? Was that the only tippet you had with you?

My question also! Maybe delicate presentation?


Mel, the week long trip for us this Saturday, a little Idaho H and a little Montana H and some river. RED ROCK!

[Mel-S]

Bring your warm clothes Joni supposed to get nasty around Monday.

[flygoddess]

Will Do....won't be the first time, in fact if it wasn't I wouldn't believe I was really there.
Of course it could be us, seems my sister in IF always knows when we are coming cause the weather does get nasty.
Got the heater and mattress warmer also he, he, he.

[Mel-S]

Originally Posted by flygoddess

Got the heater and mattress warmer also he, he, he.

No mattress thrasher?

[flygoddess]

Huh?

[BiggestT]

Originally Posted by Mel-S

Why would you use 5X when fishing foam hoppers??? Was that the only tippet you had with you?

1) It's a tail water fishery with crystal clear water.

2) We started off fishing PMDs and Pink Alberts in size 16 and 18 moving to 20.

3) The section we drifted is not that long, so there was not that much time to switch over.

4) We are relatively new to flyfishing. My host/guide is very experienced and recommended 5x and/or 6x. We deferred to his experience as I could not tell you what is a normal tippet to throw hoppers with though I know you need heavier stiffer to turn over the fly. Turns out this fish hit a Chernobyl, but close enough.

5) The real goal was a 20"+ on a size 20 dry fly. After seeing the size of the fish, we stuck with the 5x. I had tippets down to 1x. Never considered using a heavier tippet, as we did not switch over to the hoppers and Chernobyls until half way through the drift.

6) Water flow was at 1800 CFS which is almost double the normal flow for this time of year and that made it more difficult to present and to land fish.

7) My host has landed fish to 32" out of the SF Boise and both the wife and I are very experienced ultra light tackle fisherman.

[flygoddess]

Landing a big fish on light gear is very common. But the fly matches the tippet. I generally use a 4X on Hoppers, but then again I fish mostly 6 lb P-Line fluorocarbon and have landed several TROUT over 30" with that. The biggest 35".
But I have landed 20" Brown in a river current with 6X and a #32 dry fly. Yes I use 6X on #30's and #32's, but I use a Surgeon loop so the fly still wiggles.
The flex of the rod has ALLOT to do with this. I do mainly fish Glass and Bamboo so the rod takes the bend. If I do use Plastic, it is a full flex to a mid-flex for sure.




It's all about the bend.

[BiggestT]

The 5x leaders were by Rio and rated 4 lb. Rod was a 5wt Powell Tiburon. Reel was a Tibor Tailwater CL. If not for approaching rapids, we would have stayed with the boat and it would have been done. The fish spooked off on a run at first sight of the boat. I was on it for about 8 to 10 minutes. It spooked off as it approached the net man and got out into heavy current, which broke me off.

As I said, flyfishing is relatively new to me and I'm still on the steeper part of the learning curve. The guy I was fishing with is an expert at site fishing them on the dry fly. He's guided on all the major rivers in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. More than just a guide, he's got a laser focus on the fish. Driving along the Owyhee River, he was picking out rising fish. I netted a 21" brown for him that he got on a size 18 X-Caddis. I came unbuttoned on a nice 22"+ brown that zoomed off as we we're about to net him. Hooked that fish on a size 20 PMD. The Owyhee is an awesome river and I definitely need to go back. We went back to wade fish the SF Boise and I banged a number of fish over 2 days, but nothing over 16". Visually, I could see much larger fish. At one spot I had a dark colored (charcoal grey) trout with white fin tips resting in the roots of the tree I was sort of positioned in where a side braid re-entered the main river. Had one evening hatch where the fish were rising everywhere. Had a lot of takes, but hard to hook them. It was really hard to hook them at the end of a 80' cast across a fast running current, but at least my presentation was such that they were taking it.

I thought that you never use fluorocarbon leaders with dry flies as the fluorocarbon sinks?

[flygoddess]

Sounds like an awesome guy. Site fishing is so important. GLASSES get good ones.
I fish small streams all the time but I start of right in front of me then work to the other side, I see people all the time start right on the other bank, then are disappointed and claim their are no fish in the stream. I hand them my glasses then tell them to step into the stream and walk toward the middle. They always end up shouting...WOW! look at all the fish scattering...DUH!


I try to fish with at least a 5 weight. I know they can be had with lighter gear if PLAYED right, but it will also kill the fish.
Sounds like you had some killer equipment. I have the Spring Creek CL and LOVE IT. So light. and Powell rods are awesome.