Rainbows and Trico's

Monday was a perfect Trico day, cool and humid, conditions that allow the bugs to hang around for a while, saw a great flight just at the downstream barrier of Fisherman's Paradise but my mind was on Bald Eagle. Drove there and found the fish just starting to rise and this was 8:45 AM, someone had just dropped of a load of bread on the shore for the ducks and the carp both were feeding very well till I broke them up. The first fish that I hooked took off like a cannon and jumped at least 4 times just a great fight, a very nice rainbow! The rise just got better and better, pick a fish and work him till you either screw it up or hook it, some of the fish just went nuts like the first and when they got too far downstream- OFF the went. Had 4 really good rainbow and 3 great browns along with a few chubs one of which was chased by a very large brown trying to eat him while I was fighting it. I kept seeing a really good brown head and tail but could not get him to eat a Trico spinner, so at the end of the spinner fall I put on a #16 Tan Caddis new style tie, and took a few more fish till I saw the good brown rise again so I put one over him and as it floated over him I thought it was past and looked to my right to see another fish rise and you guessed it- he took the caddis and it was just too late to get a good hook set-DAM. There are just a bunch of good size rainbows in Bald Eagle at this time, don't know if they put them in or they are from a late stocking, usually we see just a ton of very small rainbows that the state stocks to get rid of excess hatchery stock (brown trout food) but have not seen them this year. All in all it was just a really good day and Wed or Thusrsday look to be just as good. The water is cold and the fish are up BUT they are really picky.

Two rods at this time

At this time of the year you really need to carry "2" rods to be truly ready for what happens, during the Trico spinner fall you will see many violent rises to the "little tan caddis" that are on our water at this time of the year and a quick cast over that fish will result in a quick take. Well how do you do this, fish with someone and carry 2-3 rods, one rigged for #22 Trico's, one rigged for #18 tan caddis drys and maybe a 3rd one rigged for beetles. You think that would be hard, well it is not, when my fishing buddy was alive we would take "3" rods along and have them ready at this time of the year, we took turns either catching a fish or not hooking one then the other guy would get the rod choice, this worked very well and made us both much better fishermen. I suggest that you find someone that is not in to competive vertures and at least try this out- I'm off to find the Trico's and caddis today!