float tubing spring lake AB, no success. questions

[fordinski]

Hi, new to the forum. my first venture out fishing in 2013 was fruitless. heres the details:

got back into fly fishing after roughly an 8 year absence (had my mind preoccupied during high school with cars, women, blah blah blah). but I made a vow to myself that I would reconnect with the outdoors for 2013 and get back into fly fishing and hunting.

so I recently made a bunch of new purchases, heres the list:
-redington pursuit fly rod/reel/line 5w 9ft combo
-outcast fish cat 4
-outcast fins
-some decent stocking-foot waders with wading boots
-life jacket with storage for fishing supplies.

anyhow I headed out to spring lake alberta on may 11/2013 (no, not the edmonton spring lake, theres another spring lake northwest of grande prairie). lake is stocked with 6400 rainbows and 4000 brook trout every year. arrived at 730 in the morning, lake was glass, nice and sunny, lake wasnt turning over and was clear. It was absolutely perfect. I was even happier to know how well my gear worked in synchronization, out on the lake I had lots of storage, and plenty of room to move and stretch, all while sitting nicely above the lake in my floating sofa chair.

heres the problem: the fish would rarely ever jump. It was weird, because I would analyze the lake for 30 minutes and not see one fish jump. then all of a sudden they start jumping 2 fish at a time around the tube. however no matter what you present to them, they would not jump for it. I didnt find much insect life yet, mostly mosquitos.

at first I started fishing with a size 14 elk hair caddis. they werent interested. Then I tried stripping a size 12 muddler minnow, I think one fish showed interest but no bite. Then decided to try a mosquito pattern since that was the only thing that seemed alive on the lake. no success. lastly I tried a smaller elk hair caddis i think size 16.

could the fish be jumping for insects just below the water surface? emergers maybe? Im no expert at matching the hatch, but I've had success fly fishing lakes before especially spring lake, but I found success in summer time, not spring. are they more selective in spring? or could it just be that the lake hasnt been stocked yet this year? I always thought the fish would be going nuts for any dry flies they can find soon after ice-off. Any tips would be appreciated, as all the information I can find is regarding river fly fishing and not stocked lakes.

one more thing I'm curious about: when I was wading back in with my tube, I found a school of small minnows about an inch or two big. this is a small lake, I could probably lap around the whole lake 15 feet from shore in my tube in about an hour, but it does get to about 90 feet deep and is spring-fed, I believe underground as I couldnt find any external water flowing in. Can the fish spawn with an underground spring?

so should i give it another go this spring with a different plan of action? or should I wait until things heat up in summer and the lake is stocked again?

[Bhflyfisher]

The bugs that im guessing you're seeing are chironomids.

Here is a beginners article to chironomids ive written if you're interested on how to fish them. They can produce ridiculously numbers some days, and break skunks on slow days.

http://www.fishingreviews.tv/a-chironomid-sampler/

That is where i would start. I wouldnt go with a dry fly at this time of year if they aren't consistently coming to the surface, not a productive method on early season stillwater. My choice would be to suspend a leech with a chironomid OR scud (shrimp), under an indicator in about 2-10' of water along shoals. Vary your depth of your indicator to match the depth you're fishing, start from the bottom and work your way up until you're consistently hooking fish.

[Flieguy]

go look at my catatonic leech post. hang that in 10 FOW, 8 feet under an indicator. don't move it (hence catatonic).

or: troll different streamers. wooley buggers, clousers (small orange ones for brookies)

sometimes fish just don't cooperate. If there's plenty of food then you need to offer them something a bit more beefy but still easy to catch.

as for them not taking your dries, try to cast to a spot in front of cruising fish (trout in lakes tend to cruise around). You can also fish an emerger or low floating fly like a parachute adams or klink as a dropper behind an attractor like a royal wulff or stimulator.

[fordinski]

bhflyfisher, your article is interesting, but says you require a fish finder to be successful. Im floating around in a float tube and don't think ill be using a fish finder. maybe I should just bring a measuring tape to measure depth? kind of primitive but I don't see why it wouldn't work.

[Bhflyfisher]

Originally Posted by fordinski

bhflyfisher, your article is interesting, but says you require a fish finder to be successful. Im floating around in a float tube and don't think ill be using a fish finder. maybe I should just bring a measuring tape to measure depth? kind of primitive but I don't see why it wouldn't work.

Fish finder is crucial for me in my bigger boat. Obviously for smaller boats its not that easy. Best way to locate fish without a finder is to look for birds actively feeding on the water, and keep an eye out for the midges like you've been seeing. Even if that means looking for the empty shucks on the surface.

I would try and find something to measure your own depth like you said. I mark my anchor rope in 1' increments to measure depth in lakes i really cant bring my finder too.

A 2 or 5lb anchor is plenty for a float tube. It will hold you nicely and keep you in place. A 5lb downrigger ball + 30' of rope is a great floatube anchor set up. It stores nicely in the area behind the seat in the fish cats.

[CantThinkOfAName]

Someday you could invest in a portable fish finder that attaches to the float tube. Something like hummingbird 120 and then an adapter.
For now if you're going to use a anchor, tie a knot every 2' and count the knots as you lower it. Not gonna be perfect but maybe good enough.

[Calgaryguy1977]

X2 on the leeches and chironomids on Alberta lakes....they seem to do well all times of year on most lakes

[Calgaryguy1977]

if that fails try nymphs and san juan worms

[chucky]

I've had success on some lakes and ponds with loch style flies (Kate McLaren, Claret Bumble, bibio, invicta, etc), fished with a slow sinking line (so they hang below the surface but not too low and you avoid the big drag from a floating line), figure of eight slowish retrieve.
X3 on leeches and small wooly buggers.

Let us know how your next trip goes!

[Pudelpointer]

Easiest way to measure depth:

Clip your forceps onto the bend on your hook, let it drop to the bottom, set indicator 4"-10" shorter, catch fish.


Ahem, ETA, remove forceps....

[338Bluff]

And if they are in 20FOW? Who likes to fish that much leader below a bobber? If I wanted that much aggravation and boredom I would have stuck with drowning power bait. I prefer leach patterns, muddlers, or big nymph patterns fished on a full sink line. Life is too short for chironomids.

I know, I know...... they are effective........not once have I ever had a decent day fishing those little bitty things. I find it the most frustrating and complicated method to catch trout. Did I mention it was boring?

Sorry for the rant. LOL!

[Bhflyfisher]

Originally Posted by 338Bluff

And if they are in 20FOW? Who likes to fish that much leader below a bobber? If I wanted that much aggravation and boredom I would have stuck with drowning power bait. I prefer leach patterns, muddlers, or big nymph patterns fished on a full sink line. Life is too short for chironomids.

I know, I know...... they are effective........not once have I ever had a decent day fishing those little bitty things. I find it the most frustrating and complicated method to catch trout. Did I mention it was boring?

Sorry for the rant. LOL!

i've fished 25' leaders off a indicator before. If you're fishing with a 10' rod and proper line, it saves you some of the headache. Deepwater chirony fishing is probably one of the best times to fish chironomids. Ya you'll pick up a couple fish on leeches and muddlers, but if you can locate a deepwater chironomid hatch and have the know how to fish it properly, its pretty much like shooting fish in a barrel.