The Hatch

[Jimmy M.]

I've only been able to get out on the river 3 times this year, fishing from a boat, in high water conditions (fast moving and dirty) but have still managed a few dandy smallies on conventional tackle..

Now that I have that out of the way i noticed something on every trip so far this month and am kind of amazed.

I have done a bit of dry fly fishing, in the fall exclusively, for about 6 seasons now.

I remember as a kid that around this time of the year we had HUGE hatches of white Millers, so much so that the bridges over the river looked like it had snowed. Those days are gone due to the siltation of the river I would assume, however this still happens to a lesser degree, and mayflies can still be seen if you pay attention.

To the point of this post is, I am able to tell the difference between a carp rolling on the surface and a smallie ringin on a bug on or near the surface, and I have witnessed it quite frequently as of late. The thing is that the water is high, dirty and moving pretty fast. The rings I am seeing are out in the middle of no mans land. These fish have to be in the upper 6 inches of the water column just to be able to even see these bugs as they go by. And some of them are on the fast side of the seam on current breaks over 10 to 16 feet of water.

The fish are not setup on any certain feeding station, and the ringin is sparatic at best.

I guess that I am just rambling here but I had to tell someone, (my fishing buddy is a die hard spinnin tackle guy and could care less about fly fishing let alone bugs)

If anyone has any input about this I am interested in learning more about the why's and hows of this.

Thanks for your time!

[Guest rich mc]

being its over deep water i would guess they are suckers or baitfish suckin bugs. what river is it? rich

[Jimmy M.]

Rich,

You might be right about the suckers ringin on the bugs i am talking about.

However the "take" is a very subtle one and reminds me of the many times I've seen smallies taking dries.

I do not claim to be an expert on this by any means but the fish are not breaking the surface tension of the water, merely putting a small dimple on it much like when they take an emerger just before it pops to the surface.

I only fish the Kankakee since it's so close to home.

[Bterrill]

Chubs and baitfish.

[Norm M]

Fish below where you see the suface activity and get the big fish that are eating the little fish that are eating the bugs.

 

With the way the K3 is going these days forget about the stuff you can't get to and concentrate on the shoreline breaks.

[John Loebach]

I was of the same opinion as norm until my trip winner last year produced 6 smallies including a couple of nice fish casting to dimples near dark with a #14 elk hair caddis. During the same time I blanked casting a clouser over the same areas. Anything can happen, when the surface comes alive it could be any or all river species at the table. I also tried the same trick two other times during midday steady rises on the Kank with zip to show for it- I'll stick to what works most often but until I see or catch the riser I won't claim that it can't be a bass.

[ronk]

On the Fox chances are pretty close to 100 per cent it'll be a carp.