PRINCE NYMPH - TYING INSTRUCTIONS

The Prince nymph is one of the most common attractor nymphs out there, but it is hard to argue with it's fish catching prowess. Maybe it lies in the white "horns", or the subtle peacock herl flash, or even the ubiquitous subaquatic shape, or maybe it is all that wrapped into one pattern. The bottom line is that this fly catches fish east to west, in many sizes, so it was an obvious choice to launch our fly tying video series! Please enjoy this initial installment.

Prince Nymph from William Grobe on Vimeo.

Lethargic Fish

Low, Clear Water 

   I was able to meet my buddy Bill for a day of fishing this week. We ventured out in the snowstorm that hit us earlier in the week. Traveling on the banks was slow going because of the 8 inches that blanketed the ground. After plowing through the snow we finally got set up and started fishing. The water was low and clear, making Tight-Lining challenging without spooking the fish. We still had at it, but numbers were low. We did managed to get a couple, some nice 15-16 inch fish. The small stuff was the only thing we were getting them on.

Nice 16 inch wild brown

   The fish just seemed lethargic the whole day. Ya I know it's winter, but usually we can fool a few more then we did today. Oh well, days like that will make you a better fisherman I guess. The wind made things challenging as well, presenting flies with a natural drift was tough. Good day out on the water though, thanks for meeting up with me Bill.....till next time!

Patagonia Foot Tractor Wading Boot: Gear Review

   Because I get to fish so much, I've gone through numerous pairs of wading boots over the years. Felt, studs, rubber soles....you name it and I've worn it. I go through 2-3 sets a year. I usually hate splurging on boots because I have no faith they will last. That was until I got the new Patagonia Foot Tractor Wading Boots. There's a reason they have won some awards this year, they are LEGIT.

   Traction and durability are the most important things to me when looking into purchasing a wading boot. The most striking feature people will notice is the wedged aluminum bars on the sole of the boot. The bars are soft enough to grab rocky surfaces with a good grip, but hard enough to cut through anything else mother nature throws at you. The bars provide a large area for traction like felt but don’t wear out like felt soles. They also have the ability to keep you stable with the wedged traction bars. They are the sturdiest boots I've ever worn on the stream. Even though they are light, they are well constructed and I feel confident they will last me the entire fishing season.

   I've tested these out on some streams that are known to eat anglers on a regular basis. These boots have given me the confidence to wade further into the river and catch more fish. Absolutely a must have if you are in the market for a new fishing boot, you won't be disappointed.

*Update as of December 1st 2017. It's been awhile since I have looked into my blog and I came across this review. These bars are the best traction I ever had on the stream. But I lied about the Durability....these boots fell apart very quickly...I went through 3 pairs in a year. Patagonia is awesome with their backing of a product and kept sending me new ones....but I ended up not wanting them anymore because of how poor they are constructed. Keep in mind I fish a lot....but still....I would NOT buy these again because of poor construction.

Winter Escapades

Winter Escapade

Cold hands are worth it for these fish





 

Small Stream, Good Fish



Pat scores a good fish

www.troutbitten.com

 I got to celebrate my birthday for a few days this week. It started out with a lovely day of skiing with my wife, then some pizza and a movie.....that's what I call a birthday. To top it all off my wife let me go fishing for a few days with my dad and my good friend Pat Burke (www.troutbitten.com)


   Winter fishing can be mentally challenging. Not only are you dealing with cold hands, but usually you are layered up and feel like you weigh 20 pounds heavier then you really are. Trying to move around, take pictures, cast your rod, stay dry and focused can be a challenging thing to do while spending an entire day on the water. Well we accomplished all of that in a 3 day span.


Black and White

21 inch trout that needs to eat more

   The first two days of the trip were very challenging and rewarding at the same time. Numbers were very low but the quality was extremely high. I'll take that any day of the week. Covering deeper water depressions was the ticket if you wanted to find a trout that was hungry. I caught most of my fish under the indicator because Tight-lining wasn't working for us. One certain nymph pattern was the ticket in fooling this pretty wild fish.

Hefty Little Fella

Winter Wonderland

   Day #3 proved to be the high numbers day, and I still managed to catch a few good fish as well. The snow came down hard and created a beautiful setting to end my trip. Great times were had with friends and family, a 33rd birthday I'll never forget!

Nymph Eater

One for the road

The Winter Soldier

Aggressive Eater

   I woke up this morning and felt like someone beat the shit out me. The river I fished yesterday can do that to you because it's brutal to wade. I went into the kitchen, filled my coffee mug, kissed the wife goodbye as she headed for work and stared outside at the heavy snow squall coming down. Overnight Old Man Winter dumped 3 fresh inches of snow on the ground. A brief check at the radar indicated it wasn't stopping anytime soon.

   I wasn't in the mood to sit down and tie flies. So I decided to pack up the truck with my artillery and do some fishing. The snow was puking out there, but the weather wasn't all that bad. There was no wind to speak of and the air temperatures was a balmy 20 degrees. The drive in was slow because the roads were covered, but I eventually got to my parking spot.

   Nothing beats walking through the woods when there is a fresh blanket of snow on the ground. The march in was peaceful and quite, the only sounds I could hear were my boots crunching in the snow. After breaking trail in 4 inches of the fresh stuff for 20 minutes, I was warmed up and ready for battle...time to fish.

Wild Brown

   I was excited to Tight-Line and get better drifts today. The first spot I stopped at was an indicator hole though, yesterday it produced 4-5 fish and today ZILCH! Dang the day wasn't starting off so good. I moved into the pocket water and focused my attention on the banks. I managed to get a few fish this way, very similar to yesterday, maybe a few more fish. The action picked up around mid-day, I was definitely getting into a few more fish. Unlike yesterday, I could tell my drifts were better quality, and the fish agreed. The soft spots behind structure that produced so well in the spring/summer still held fish, just not in the numbers I am used too. The slower water feels like it has more fish then normal, maybe the trout are moving into winter lies.

   I think it was a pretty good outing for a winter trip, numbers were good enough to forget about the cold. A few times my hands got numb, but only when they got wet. They got wet because I was catching fish, nothing to complain about there.

Best Fish Of The Day 

   I landed a decent amount of fish in the 11-13 inch range, and a few were 15 inches. The best of the day was this studly 18 incher. Around 4:15pm I marched on down the path to my truck, feeling battered and bruised, but ready for another day in the trenches soon........

Till The Next Time......

Patagonia 3-in-1 River Salt Jacket

Ok, I've only been out on the water 1 time with this beast but I have no doubt it will continue to produce. I wanted a new jacket because my winter coat is bright red. I know right, I'm getting carried away but I always thought during the winter months I was spooking fish because the water is usually low and clear. Well Santa hooked me up (Thanks Mom and Dad!) and today was the first day out on the water with it.

The shell itself has Patagonia's H2NO Performance Standard Shell to block the wind and keep you dry. I have a few other Patagonia Jackets like this and they are all bomb proof. The cuffs are spandex and for the first time ever my base layers didn't get a drop of water on them. Usually when I release fish it's inevitable that some water leaks down your jacket sleeve, not with this jacket. There are plenty of pockets that can store a bunch of gear. But....my favorite feature is the Button Up Nano-Puff. I did a float with a client 2 months ago and he gave the Nano-Puff rave reviews. He was spot on. I layered with a thin wool long underwear top, and a zip-up fleece. I was out on the water for 8 hours today, it was 19 degrees with 20-30 mph winds....there were times I was sweating lol. I don't know what the heck that PrimaLoft Gold insulation is but it keeps you warm and is light. The weight is such an added bonus, I felt 50 pounds lighter then last year at this time. Ya it's expensive. But if you don't mind spending the cash or can get a deal on this jacket, I HIGHLY recommend it.

*Update on this jacket since my last post. The zipper on this jacket really sucks. It's broke 2 times and on the verge of breaking for the 3rd time. Nothing more annoying then failing gear.

Hell Weeks......

 Hell Weeks......well that's what I call them. It's the time around Christmas Eve to somewhere after New Year's Day. This is what the tourism industry calls these two Holidays.  Don't get me wrong, it's great, business is good, workers are busy and the resort is making money. But, after 2 weeks of working, sleeping, eating and not much else, I look forward to the Monday after New Years Day. Everyone else is dreading going back to work, but the few of us who worked over the Holidays makes this day feel like Christmas all over again.

My Therapy 

   After driving on snow covered roads for 30 minutes I finally arrived at my destination. The weather couldn't of been worse, 19 degrees with 20-30 mph winds.  I still had a smile on my face as I was rigging up. I've been longing to wet a line since the Hell Weeks started.

   As I was getting blown over by the wind, I realized I better throw on a TB because Tight Lining would be near impossible. Fishing an indicator on this river is not my first choice, the currents are too complex to get good drifts and registering strikes becomes a challenge. But I didn't mind so much today, I was just happy to be out. I took a long walk away from where I parked,  didn't want to get back to my truck till 4. I recently got a new wading jacket for Christmas, the 3-1 Salt River Jacket from Patagonia. I wanted to put it to the in these harsh conditions. I also scored a pair of Patagonia Foot Tractor Wading Boots, no better place to test their traction then here.

   After 20 minutes of walking I finally dunked my nymph's in the river. I started in a slower area methodically working my way through the hole. I managed to land a few fish and lost 1 really good high teens brown. He put on an impressive head shake but my set was slow and the hook didn't stick. Oh well. I continued to work upstream, fighting off cold hands, ice build up and broken rigs. I swear it took me 2 hours to move 100 yards because I kept breaking off. Nothing is more frustrating then re-gigging when your hands are numb. The fish were still spread out throughout all types of water, I caught fish in slow water, on the banks, and in heavy pockets. My confidence wasn't great fishing this type of water with the TB but I still caught a few fish each hour to make the day go by quickly.

   In route back to where I parked I tried throwing streamers. I fished them hard for about 20 minutes but only got 1 chase, the fish was a solid mid-teens brown. A nice ice cold Head Hunter was waiting for me back at the truck and the streamer bite was off, easy decision..... I gave up on throwing meat for the Head Hunter......good choice. While drinking my beer I noticed my streamer was frozen solid....maybe not enough movement in the water??? LOL

Head Hunter

   Toward the end of the day I scored my best brown of this outing, I very colored up 16 inch wild brown. That was the icing on the cake, Hell Week is forgotten and a new year is upon us.......

Icing On The Cake.....Or All Over My Body

I'll post a gear review on my two new products, but 2 thumbs up to both, my core stayed extremely warm for 8 straight hours, Patagonia knows how to develop top notch outdoor apparel. As for the boots they worked tremendous, I wish I would of had a pair of these last year.