Carp Fishing on the Snake...Part 1

How does one become an avid carp aficionado? 

It is really a good question, for me the answer is grounded in a basic human feeling called desperation.

Four years ago I was scheduled to go on a really cool bonefishing trip to the island of Mayaguana in the Bahamas. This is a place that is seriously off the radar being one of the southern most islands in the Bahamas archipelago.  I felt real lucky to get the invite to go on the trip as it was a exploration trip put together by Angling Destinations (AD)  for their DX (Destination X) program.  Long story short the day before I was to leave (with all of my gear packed and staged in my living room) I got a call from AD telling me that the guy who was scheduled to fly us into the island just went out of business (A bummer to say the least). There were no other scheduled flights into this island and that as they say… was the end of that.  I had been looking forward to this little adventure for months and was really primed to go get some big bones and maybe a shot at Tarpon, Permit or anything else that was swimming around the island.  So the next question became, what do I do now?  Since I had the time off and had my bigger rods ready to go I decided to try to replicate… (as best  I could),the salt water flats experience in Idaho.  I had been reading about some crazy guys in Colorado who were chasing Carp with fly rods and had been thinking, for some time, about giving it a go. I figured that there was no time like the present.  I know the Snake River around the Twin Falls/Buhl area fairly well and remembered some interesting inlets and bays that I figured would hold some fish.  Armed with my trusty bonefishing gear including 8wt rods, Crazy Charlie’s, and some new flats boots I was out the door. 

What happened next was really kind of interesting. I had no trouble locating Carp…let me tell you the Snake River is full of them, big ones, little ones and some really big ones. I had no real trouble finding a place that I could walk in and take some casts at Carp. After all the Snake runs the full width of Idaho at it widest point.  But, I did have some trouble getting the crazy Carp to eat.  One thing is for sure…Snake River Carp do not go nuts over Crazy Charlies…no matter what the magazine articles say.  I spent the next several days wading the Snake River and casting everything in my fly box at these 20lb-40lb fish.  Their normal reaction to my cast was indifference. They didn’t just kind of ignore it, they were totally oblivious to the fact that I was desperately trying to get something in front of them that they would eat.  I have a lot of flies and over the course of 3 days I tried most of them on these fish.  They didn’t look at it, nose it or eat it…they just swam by.  For me this was too much. I knew that people were catching them because I had read all the glossy magazine articles from our sports glamor guys…at that point I was hooked. I dedicated myself to figuring it out.

So the next question really is: Why should any one care about catching Carp?

Although I have several friends that put Carp fishing in the same category as worshipping the devil or maybe even something more dreadful. The answers to this question are really pretty rational if you take it from a fly fisher’s point of view.

Reasons #1 and#2, although I am not sure in which order,  Carp are big and Carp are strong. For a fly guy it doesn't get  much better; hooking into a 20lb plus ultra strong fish is…frankly, almost too much fun.  I liken it to hooking up with a tug boat.  Carp may not be the fastest thing in the water but you are going to play hell stopping them once they hook up with your fly.

Reasons 3 and 4  at least in my mind are:  Carp are highly intelligent and posses the ability to actually hear.  Carp have three types of hearing: an inner ear; an extremely sensitive lateral line sensor; and a Weberian apparatus. The Weberian apparatus is a linkage of bones called ossicles (small bones), derived from the vertebrae immediately following the skull, connecting the inner ear and the swim bladder which enables the fish to hear high frequency sounds and sense danger. This sensory arrangement allows them to detect sound vibrations in a lower and wider range than other fish. This makes them pretty hard to actually sneak up on…so stalking and stealth become a key part of the game
.

Reasons 5 and 6 :  Carp are omnivores (eat both plant and animal matter) and Carp feed within a small feeding window. The good news is they have lots to eat (thus the big strong stuff above) the bad news is they can be highly selective and you need to put your bug right on their nose to get their attention.  

So there you have it. To successfully catch Carp you must be able to see and stalk, understand what they are feeding on, and present your fly within a 12 inch window (less is better).  Once you do all that you might get a hook up, if so,  your fish fighting skills and knot tying skills are going to be put to a serious test.

Good Luck and Good Hunting!

Grande Ronde Fall Steelhead

Grande Ronde Fall 2010

Madison Special hooking up

General Trip Overview

Date:  October 27th-29th  Grande Ronde Steelhead Trip

Location:  Grande Ronde River between Bogan’s Oasis and Troy

Trip Objective :  Learn how to catch Steelhead in the fall on the Ronde.  Stayed at the Shilo Troy resort in a room above the restaurant http://www.troyresort.com/  The room was ok, two single beds and a shared bath. Clean enough for a fishing trip.  It was basically worth the cost and that’s about it ($49per night). The restaurant opens at noon and the food was fine.  They serve lunch and dinner and have a small bar.  You can also buy gas, cold drinks and cookies the owner's were very nice...the guys name is Doug.

Weather & Stream Information :

Nice late fall days…some serious rain had fallen a couple of days before their continued to be sporadic clouds and decent showers.  The river was in good fishing shape. Not crystal clear but good visibility to 4-6 feet really just about what you want for sporadic clouds and showers.

Water Temperature:  Not really sure but it was warm to normal for the time of year

Flow & Clarity: The river was in good shape. Not crystal clear but good visibility 4-6 feet.  No Wind

Hatches:  Nothing really a few October caddis flies

Crowds:  It is a popular time…there were people in most of the runs. The Washington side above Bogan's seemed a little better than the Oregon runs to Troy.

Results:

Fish Caught: While fishing with Rick Hedding I landed 2 nice steelhead (hen and buck) and had 4 more on…one was a very nice fish about twice the size of the ones I landed

Best Flies:  Purple rabbit leach with a black bead head and red sparkle hackle,  trailing a Madison Special (pink chenille and white wing)….caught fish on both flies. Rick also fishes the purple leach with a pink bead and a red bead supposedly black was the ticket the day I was there.

Other:  Used Rick Hedding as my guide he is highly recommended. http://www.northweststeelheadfishing.com/  509-869-1444

 

Trip Detail:

Rick Hedding...Grande Ronde Guide

Fishing the Grande Ronde has not always worked out well for me. This will be my third trip and so far no fish. To increase my success rate I decided to find a guide that was very well versed in catching Grande Ronde steelhead. I got Rick Hedding’s name from a TV show called  “Fish on the Fly”.  Rick hosted a very successful adventure guiding the Gonzaga head basketball coach ( Mark Few) down the river.  It was a great show and everyone was very complimentary of Rick.  After some additional  due diligence I figured that he was my guy so I called. Long story short choosing Rick was a great idea.  He fishes the Washington section of the Ronde, which frankly looks like it has better water than the Oregon section.  He is very knowledgeable and a great teacher. I learned a ton and can honestly say he is one if not the best guides I have had the pleasure of fishing with.

 

 Travel Logistics:

Bogan's...Food and Supplies

I left Boise very early (5:14) on Wednesday the 27th and was at Bogan’s Oasis by 9:30 Pacific Time.  There is a 1 hour time change. It is roughly a 5 hour trip and there is a good opportunity to tie into a real  good breakfast in Enterprise at a very local café  “Friends Restaurant” .  It is right on the corner of River and North 1 block past the left hand turn that you make to head towards the Grande Ronde (Bogan’s and  ultimately Troy).  It is about an hours drive from Enterprise to the Ronde, you can take the Flora cutoff(~37 miles from Enterprise) this will put you on the Ronde just below Troy on Oregon water.  Or, you can continue down the main highway and you will cross the Ronde at Bogan’s in Washington.  There is a 4 season road that goes along the Ronde and connects Bogan's to Troy running along the Grande Ronde the entire time.   Troy is ~16 miles upstream from Bogan's and you hit the Oregon Border about 10 miles upstream from Bogan’s.  The Oregon/Washington border is not well marked so you need to pay attention to which state you are in.  As you travel upstream from Bogan’s there is a boat launch ~ 10 miles upstream from Bogan’s.  There are some large cliffs across the river from the launch.  At that point I am sure you are in Oregon.

 

The Fishing: 

Weneha River in NE Oregon

Chris Jones...Explorer

General Trip Summary

Date:  9/8 /2010 thru 9/12/2010

Location:  Wenaha River…trail head at Troy..~6.5 miles into Crooked Creek

Trip Objective :  Investigate Wenaha, find the elusive Oregon Bull Trout

Lodging and Buddies:  I went on this trip with Chris Jones the famous backpacker and Sawtooth explorer.  We camped along the river in various spots. There are several nice spots ~ 5 miles in.  The first spot is a black walnut tree across the river.  Approx. ½ mile further you will see a trail that leads to a nice camp on the beach next to a very cool basalt wall nick named the weeping wall (Chris Jones 9/9/2010)

Weather

Air Temperature:  First couple of days were cool (60’s) with plenty of rain it began to clear at the end of day 3 and we got good fall type weather

Moon Phase: full moon

Wind Speed:  Winds were light

Stream Information

Water Temperature:  Stream temperature was good…cool to wade but not too cold to wade wet. The lower section of the river was cold enough to hold some nice trout.

Flow & Clarity:  Very clear

Oregon Bull Trout

Hatches:  Observed some hatches coming off in the morning (pale yellow crane fly #16, some brown caddis #16 or possibly #18, also observed lots of stone fly shucks on rocks and caddis larva. Some very large encased larva…huge #10?  Not sure what the larva is (large October Caddis?)

Crowds:  We saw quite a few people…several groups of fishermen plus backpackers every day

Results

Fish Caught:  We caught fish every day…lots of small rainbows in the fast water, plus some very nice bull trout and mountain white fish.
Best Flies:  The larger fish seemed to like large black streamers…I used heavily weighted ones to get down in the holes.  Even the smaller trout smacked them hard.  The white fish seemed to like the combination of a Yellow Sallie trailing a # 16 Peasant Tail nymph.  

 

Detailed Trip Notes:

Teton River "The Slide"

Chris and Mark exploring the Teton

900 feet down...hard on equipment!

General Detail

Date: July 21st 2010

Location: Teton River (the slide) ~ 20 miles upstream from dam

Trip Objective:  Investigate the upstream section of the beautiful Teton River above the old Dam site and below felt dam. This is in the middle of the Canyon area and very, very remote. The only way in is to slide your raft/boat 900 feet down a very steep hill. Once down you are on your own, literally. No other way in or out of the Canyon for the next 7 miles. This one is a bucket list must do adventure…at least it was for me.

Lodging and Adventure Partner: My partner in crime was Chris Jones.  Chris is a very good adventurer, someone who is both at home and can look out for himself in the wilds. This was Chris’s first trip with a guide…nice way to break into guided fishing.  We stayed in my trailer on a lot I have about 20 miles downstream from our launch site...accommodations were sparse but the price was right and the guests were really good people....

Weather & Stream Information

Air Temperature: Nice weather, clear and in the low 80’s it was a perfect early summer day.

Wind Speed: No wind to speak of

Water Temperature: The river was still running cold, perfect for a early summer fish in the canyon.

Flow & Clarity: Flow had dropped to reasonable floating range 2 weeks before our trip, water was running ~ 2000cfs and was clear

Hatches: Some golden stones, not too much else

Crowds:  No crowds in this canyon we did see one other boat from World Cast Anglers  with 2 very sun burnt clients.

Results

Fish Caught: Fishing was ok for smaller cutthroat 12-18 inches, we did not see any rainbows although they do, on occasion, show up in the canyon. We didn’t see any of the big boy cuts although they are suppose to love the deep pools and pockets on this section of the Teton. Oh well, there is always next year!

Best Flies: Stone fly dragging a bead head pheasant tail… surprise huh. The fishing got a little better as it warmed up and the stones started coming off.

 

Detailed Trip Notes:

We spent the day with guide Eric Campbell (208-484-9496) who is currently working for 3 Rivers Ranch (208-652-3750). Eric is a very accomplished guide and equally handy at rowing the raft. He knows this water very well and seems to be Three River’s go to guide for the tough stuff.  I highly recommend him!  We were in the Puma series raft offered by Aire. It worked fine and a raft is really the only option given the 900 foot dirt slide… but all and all a raft is not near as good to fish from as a drift boat. There is just a lot more piece parts to get your fly and line hung up on.

The float was spectacular, this is a very remote and rugged canyon, certainly one of the most remote fishing areas left in the lower 48. The big deal on this trip is the river access or lack of it.  There is only a couple of places where you can get to the river in the canyon area (which is ~30 mile long) and really only 1 way to get a boat into the water….lower it down a 900 foot dirt slide (thus the name “The Slide”.  So the guide and another employee from 3 rivers lowered the raft down with ropes (see pictures ). Chris and I got the much more pleasant task of walking down a very steep trail.  Even the trail down was a little tricky as it is quite steep with small pea sized gravel to help you slide smoothly alongJ   Needless to say this process cuts the traffic down substantially. As far as we can tell the next river access point is a good 7 plus miles downstream and still pretty tough to get to although it is a spot you can get a 4 wheel drive to (barely)..

This should be an annual event as it will be just a matter of time before this section of the river will be civilized or dammed…but for now it is remote and absolutely beautiful. For our trip the water and weather were perfect. Unfortunately, the fish were not as aggressive as any of us wanted and we were not able to see any of the larger cut throats that we expected to see.  This may have been caused by a mild cold front that came through the night before…or some pissed off fishing gods…either way the fishing was what it was.  We caught fish all day but did not tie into the monsters.

Key Learning's & Other Thoughts:

Crystal Creek in Southern Oregon

Mitch on left Kurt on right

Location: Crystal Creek Oregon

Date: June 12th 2010



Trip Objective : 



Fish the little-known trophy trout fishery in Southern Oregon called Crystal Creek. Hook one of the monster Klamath run Redband Rainbows. Lodging and Buddies: Fishing partners were Kurt Barats and Mitch Barats often know as 2/3’s of the Cartwright clan (missing brother Greg rounds it out). We stayed and ate  at a clean hotel/restaurant called  “ Malita’s” . They are located right on Highway 97 in Chiloquin Oregon 541-783-2401. This area’s claim to fame is  the Williamson river which is a great fishery for large Klamath run rainbows…so they are use to seeing anglers.

 

Weather & Stream Information

General Weather & Wind: Cool wet spring, partly cloudy skies with air temperature reaching 65 degrees. 

Water Temperature: 56 degrees

Kurt's 17 inch Redband Rainbow

Flow & Clarity:  Uncertain about flow but clarity was very good the stream looked to be running at 600-800cfs but kind of hard to tell as it is a wide spring creek 



Mitch feelin good!



Hatches: We didn’t see any major hatch activity. As such we fished underneath the entire day
Crowds:  No pressure, we did see a couple other boats late in the afternoon but we were quite a ways upstream from them. Pretty nice to have miles of spring creek to yourself…also pretty rare.

 

Results

Fish Caught:  We landed 5 fish with the largest one being ~ 17 inches.  We had quite a few other fish on the line and I jumped a couple that would likely go 19 inches plus .  We did see  some much larger fish…oh yeah…already dreaming  about next year.

Best Flies: Black wooly Bugger with a heavy lead eye, red and black seal bugger, olive streamer

Other: This area is known to fish well with seal bugger flies. We also heard a rumor that green was the color…unfortunately we didn’t have a green seal bugger to test….but next year we will.

 

Chrystal Creek Trip Detail: 

The Barats brothers (Kurt and Mitch) (two thirds of the Cartwright clan—my nickname) invited me to tag along on one of their spring exploration trips to Southern Oregon. Having grown up in the area they have a good feel for the various fishing waters and normally put a trip or two together each year.  The area has the famous Williamson river which is known for monster Redband Rainbows migrating  out of Klamath lake. Maybe more exciting (same fish, smaller stream) and quite a bit less known are several other beautiful streams that also drain into  Klamath Lake. One of these lesser known streams is Chrystal Creek.

Directions:

Imnaha & Wallowa Steelhead

Trip Objective and General Observations: 
The intent of this trip was to increase our learning of the Wallowa river system, both the upper and lower sections and to get an initial exposure to the Imnaha. Both of these streams had  excellent Steelhead runs this past spring, so it seemed like a great time to go. Our plan was to fish the upper Wallow between Rock creek and Minam on Friday…testing some new stone fly patterns that I had developed over the winter; explore the Imnaha on Saturday then  ride the train back to the lower Wallowa (down stream from Minam) on Sunday.  This was my third time on the Wallowa chasing Steelhead and I was beginning to feel more confident in my ability to hook-up with these fish (this can be a dangerous and disappointing feeling).

Hatches & Best Flies  

Wallowa:  The upper river had some midsize stone nymphs in the water…dark in color with a subtle dark/golden color abdomen….pretty subtle gold color…Size 4.  My large, heavy weighted #2 stone pattern picked up the biggest fish of the trip  (dark stone fly, double bead head  with white/black legs) See the picture above. The lower Wallowa was fishing well with a #14 nymph both a prince variety and other nymph ties..there was also a dark dun hatch that came off around 1…that is when the fish really started to get active. 

KB with a very nice Steelie

Imnaha:  We observed a small #10 or #12 stone fly hatch that started in the early afternoon.  We did not try to imitate it but the fishing did seem to pick-up once the stones became activity.  We had our best action on a larger heavier stone, trailing a smaller  #14 nymph.  The Steelies hit both bugs.

Trip Detail:

Winter Carpen on the Snake

Field Action:  Winter Carp Fishing

Location:  Snake River Hagerman/Buhl area

Date  2/7/2010

Participants:  KBarats & the Gamefisher

 

Weather , Water  Flow & Temperature    This was a very nice day for February . The air temperature has been in the mid to upper 40’s all week and today was just as nice.…exceptional weather for early February in Idaho.   The water was higher than usual because of up stream dam work…6 to 12 inches higher from a bank standpoint

 

Objective and General Observations:    We have had a very warm winter this year with below average rain/snow fall.  Even with this nice weather both KB and I were feeling pretty desperate to get out and dust off our 8wt rods.  KB  also wanted to check how the Carp would be biting on a warm early February day… as you can imagine, I also had a passing interest in this field work.  We were equally inspired to see if the larger trout would be showing up early.  Usual this spot fishes well in the March time frame for trout but the extra warm weather had us wondering if they would come into the area early.

 

Trip Detail:    

We left Boise fairly late for us (8:30a.m.) thinking that we were in the dead of winter so what’s the rush. We took the Hagerman exit of I-84 and proceeded to the Snake River with the intent of  fishing between Hagerman and the Buhl area.  There is some pretty good water in this area with more rapids than normal. Below these rapids there is  some good holding water, pools and eddies that the fish seem to like to hang out in.  As an aside there are so many Carp in the Snake that any spot with decent access is liable to be productive.  We like this area because it is outside of Boise about 2 hours, has great access up and down the river and your are not likely to see any other crazies chasing Carp in February...

 

We arrived at our favorite spot directly below a nice rapids section  and were on the water by 11.  This seemed about right as it was still pretty cold when we pulled in but the big Carp started getting more active as the day progressed. We were seeing some pretty Carp splashes by noon.  I am not really sure if these splashes mean that the Carp are actually eating off the surface but the activity does seem to indicate happy active fish which always gives me hope.

This was KB’s, first real fishing outing since he nuked his shoulder last Fall (trying to fair catch plywood or something like that).  It has been a long recuperation period for him, lots of couch time and skill development on getting things done with 1 arm….needless to say he was really itching to go.  He was able to throw well although he was quite sore at the end of the day…
 

Results & Key Learning’s: