josh konkoly

A question for y'all...

 

There's one place that I like to fish that is downstream of the access point. It's a narrowish stream (maybe 30') so you can't really cast "across" you really need to fish "down" if you are going downstream. I find that it's fairly easy to fish topwater downstream. I use long casts and essentially fan cast to holding areas.

 

There's one part of the river that is fairly slow water and over the hip deep. It's sorta one big potential holding area. I just get the feeling that in this water they aren't really "looking up" so I want to be able to go subsurface. The only way I can think of doing this and stay in connection is to essentially to use trot lining.. in otherwords just let the line float down the surface, stay in touch with the nymph for a long length of line, reel in, and repeat.

 

Is there any other way to fish subsurface & downstream?

 

-jamie

I've done quite a bit of Fly Rodding for smallies in the Dupage, Fox, and Kankakee rivers. Working a med. to large "Streamer" down-stream, against the current, is probably the most productive and consistent method in these sometimes heavily stained waters were the main forage are bait fish. I've stumbled across a deadly little tactic this past summer on the Fox. I use a 7wt. rod with a floating line if the water isn't too high or fast ,(and a sink-tip line If it is), tied to an eight foot Flourocarbin leader (2x), with a medium to large sized Lefty's Deciever* tied to that, I prefer a kelley-green and white.

The technique is simple. Cast down-stream atleast 40 feet or more, over the tail-end of a riffle-pool, at the deepest spot just before the water begins the next shallow riffle, and simply hold the fly steady, sitting still in the current, and impart short, snappy liitle twitches of line from 3 to 6 inches but "always" ending up back in the same spot, the original spot, try to keep it in the same spot the best you can, atleast within a foot or so. The stikes will be easily detectible and will hook automatically from your strip-still retrieve. Basically you keep short jerk working, holding it in the same spot until you feel the heaviness of the fish.

Hope your able to follow, send me a note if you can't.

Josh Konkloly

Hey DuPage River folks:

 

Has anyone seen an otter on the DuPage before? I believe I saw one today. I'm checking on the geographical range now.

I've had a few encounters with these on the West Branch Dupage at Wash st. I Was able to search these and learned that they are indeed Mink. Mink act in a very similar way to the otter. I've had them swim up to me and one was so playful and inquisitive that he swam around me and between my legs!