The Shokuryoshi Experiment
Here we are! The first journal entry post for 2024! I started sharing journal entries last year as a way to find a format that I liked, and to build up some reference points. I'm continuing with much the same format this year, but with the "Shokuryoshi Experiment" being the main focus of this year's content, I will be backing these posts up with a monthly recap to show how my fishing season is progressing.
Time: 7:35PM - 8:05PM
Weather Conditions: Mostly clear skies, Air temp ~58F
Water Conditions: Water temp ~60F, Moderate flow with slight turbidity
Between work and visiting family, I was able to get out on the water for a very quick session. To be honest, I was on the fence about whether or not I had "enough" time to fish and whether I should go or stay home. I'm glad I went.
Sundown was predicted for 8:03 that evening, so I knew I wouldn't have much time to fish, but I think that the race against the dark helped me in how I decided to manage my time during this session.
The walk down to the creek gave me a good view of the water and the bugs bouncing around on the surface of the water. I started with a size 14 futsu that I refer to as "Blue Dream," which is the fly that I used for the full session.
The spot I focused on first usually holds a few fish, but the challenge is that you have to present the fly downstream from where the trail meets the creek. This spot was pretty active and in the first 5 minutes or so I had brought 3 fish (2 rainbows and 1 brown) to the net. They ranged from 4-6 inches in length, but I was happy with the start of the session.
The next pool I fished isn't one that is very active, but I figured I'd put a few casts in to see if the increased bug activity maybe brought some trout out of hiding, and to my surprised, landed 2 more rainbows there.
Above that pool is a stretch of water that is pretty exposed, leaving a lot of room for error when approaching it. No bites on the fly there, but there was some activity. My presentation wasn't quite up to snuff, but I wasn't willing to spend too much time trying to entice a strike when I had three more pools to cover.
What I consider "the middle pool" is an interesting one. It usually holds fish, but they rarely come to the surface for anything. The most consistent interest I get here is from drifting nymphs, but I figured I'd sink the futsu a little and see what I got. To my surprise, I hooked into a rainbow that I would put into the 8-10" range - which is pretty good for this creek. I was caught off guard by this though, and the fish bolted through the pool during our fight. After landing and releasing this one, I put a few more casts in, but really should have just moved on.
Next was the "big pool." This is where a good portion of fish caught in this creek hold. With about fifteen minutes left, I started making my casts and presenting the fly in different ways. There was a bit of attention from the fish, but most of them seemed to swat the fly rather than try to grab it. The length of this pool took up the majority of the time I had left, but I still wanted to hit the last section of this stretch before I lost light.
The upper pool was surprisingly low activity, but it seemed the hatch was tapering off at this point. I was able to pull 1 more brown trout from this pool, and with a few minutes to spare, I became inspired to make a few more casts in the "big pool" before I spooled up my line.
Going back, I hit the pool with a downstream presentation. I let the fly sink down with the current, and with a slow rise through the column, I was able to land one more small rainbow for the evening.
My total count for this half hour session was 8 fish landed, ranging in size from approximately 4-8 (maybe 10) inches.
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