Fly Fishing Insider Newsletter featuring Insect Collecting

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Insect Collecting - Kick Screening
Sometimes fish feed very selectively. Certain popular species of trout are known to be very specific about what they eat. During certain hatches trout will often "key" in on a brief sequence of the emergence of a specific insect. Successful anglers are very observant and can determine whether a trout might be taking a floating nymph, an emerger, a dun or a crippled dun. Then a fly
is chosen to match that part of the hatch. The more you know about what fish feed on, the better you can match the hatch. The better you can match the hatch, the more fish you will catch in many circumstances. Most biologists agree that trout consume approximately 80% of their diet below the surface of the water. In Pacific Northwest rivers the major food source for trout is aquatic invertebrates. Most are nymphs and larva of insects that will eventually hatch into winged adults. These juvenile aquatic insects come in many shapes, sizes and colors. Each is designed to fit a specific niche within the watershed so the distribution of species does not occur evenly. Trout in one area of a river may be living with and feeding on a different mix of insects than trout living in a different location.

It pays to know what kind of insects are available in each of your fishing spots. One of the most popular tools for collecting insect samples from the bottom of fast flowing rivers is the kick screen. A kick screen is a square of window screen with a stick attached to the edges of each end. The bottom end of the sticks are jammed into the river bed with the screen strung between them perpendicular to the current of the river. The person stands upstream from the screen and shuffles his feet. Anything that is dislodged from the bottom is washed into the screen and held there by the water current. The screen is then raised to the

surface in such a manner that the trapped insects stay on the screen. If possible, place the screen on a light colored surface so that what ever is trapped on the screen will be more visible. (The front hatch cover on my new Clackacraft drift boat is the perfect background.) Insects will not be alone on the net. there will be plenty of stream bed algae and bottom debris to confuse your view. Finding the insects will be easier if you flush and clean some of the refuse from your screen. A pair of tweezers will be very handy for picking specimens from the screen. A white pan for examining specimens is a handy addition to your kit. Fill this pan with water. Shallow,

clean water gives the best view. A piece of light colored screen in the bottom of the pan will allow invertebrates to move more naturally than the slick surface of the pan. The screen also describes a grid for judging proportions of the invertebrates resting on it. The cleaner the water the more unobstructed view you will have of your specimens. Recording information at the scene is always a way of assuring accuracy of memory. Exact colors are often hard to discern and harder to remember.

Clean specimens are easier to see.

A Borger Color System is a book of systematically arranged color swatches which allow you to judge colors accurately. There is also a booklet for recording information. Collecting and preserving samples is also a very handy way of collecting information. Regular old rubbing alcohol will preserve invertebrate samples. However, an even better solution is Bug Balmer (listed Below). Samples last longer and colors last longer than is other solutions we have tried. The better samples you have on your tying bench, the better flies you will tie.

Wind River Bug Balmer Bug Balmer dispatches and preserves insects. Special ingredient fixes and maintains the color of almost all aquatic organisms. This preservative solution is the best we have used. For best results kill the insects by drowning them in the solution. Some larger insects will secrete body fluids when they die. This will pollute the solution and color it. For best results drain off this tainted fluid and replace it with clear fluid. For best results fill your container to the top so that no air is trapped between the closed lid and the fluid. Bubbles contain oxygen which will harden and bleach your specimens. Also bubbles tend to erode and break up your specimens if the container is tipped back and forth. Bubble also obstruct your view of the specimens. No know solution will preserve colors for ever. Specimens preserved for six months Bug Balmer showed little change. Specimens preserved for over two years showed major change in color but most specimens perserved for over five years are still intact.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
BALMER	Wind River Bug Balmer	8 oz.	$5.95

Up-to-Date INFORMATION on Local Lakes.
Scroll this table for instant information. Click the links for more information.
Our Lakes Information Section is constantly evolving. Be sure to check often for up-dates.

Badger Lake	The road is still blocked by snow.
Chickahominy Reservoir	Angling should improve in late summer and fall, but no trout will be available until ODFW stocks legal-size rainbow. The reservoir was extremely low last year, and was drained of the remainder to remove an illegally introduced goldfish. Good snow pack has filled the reservoir, so we plan to stock fingerling rainbow trout and several thousand legal-size rainbow trout in early May. The fingerling trout should reach legal size by late September.
Clear Lake	Road open. Half full of water. Nice hold-overs.
Crane Prairie Reservoir	Opens to angling April 24. Crane Prairie is expected to be similar to last season. Fair numbers of wild and hatchery rainbow trout are available. Hatchery fish are 100 percent marked with an adipose fin clip or left ventral clip, so please voluntarily limit your harvest of wild trout to protect this fishery. Expect fish to be scattered early in the season. Anglers should target shallow water areas for best early season success. Good numbers of brook trout are available, and the best angling is early in the season. Bass angling should improve as water temperatures increase; target willow areas early in the season. Recent illegal introductions of black crappie and bluegill have occurred. There is no limit on size or number of crappie or bluegill.
Davis Lake	Water levels were very low in 2002 and 2003. Water levels for 2004 will not be known until late May or June but are anticipated to be better than the past two years. Lava Flow Campground and boat launch will again be closed until late summer. All of the Davis Lake campgrounds and boat ramps were closed following last years Davis Lake Fire. The USFS has no plans to re- open West Davis Campground or boat ramp at this time. Please call the USFS Crescent Ranger District at 541- 433-3200 for current information on campground and boat ramp conditions. Angling is expected to be fair through the early part of the season and again late in the season. Expect numbers of rainbow trout to be reduced due to low water conditions. Most fish are in the 12 to 16-inch size class, and a fair number of fish are larger than 20 inches. Davis Lake is fly angling only with a bag limit of two trout per day between 10 and 13 inches. Anglers fishing for bass in Davis Lake are restricted to fly angling only using barbless flies. Bass were illegally introduced into Davis Lake and there is no limit on size or number harvested. Consult the Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations for additional special regulations on Davis Lake . Please note that Odell Creek and the Odell Creek channel are closed upstream of West Davis Camp Ground boat ramp until May 22.
East Lake	Kokanee, rainbow, brown trout, and Atlantic salmon are present in the lake. Expect fair to good catches of rainbow and brown trout early in the season. Brown trout numbers are excellent with good numbers of large fish. Catchable rainbow trout are stocked intermittently through the season. Expect fair to good numbers of carryover rainbow early in the season. East Lake is becoming a popular fly fishing destination for Atlantic salmon.
Frog Lake	No Report.
Harriet Lake	Will be stocked mid April and throughout the spring and summer.
Hosmer Lake	No Report.
Klamath and Agency Lakes	No Report.
Laurence Lake	All non-fin-clipped trout must be released unharmed and only artificial flies and lures can be used. All bull trout must be released unharmed. Tributary streams are closed to all angling. Laurance Lake is open April 24 - Oct. 31.
Lost Lake	No Report.
Mann Lake	No Report.
Olallie Lake	No Report.
Pine Hollow Reservoir	Has been stocked and is open all year. Pine Hollow should be good on the "opening" weekend since good numbers of fish over-winter in the reservoir. Good numbers of largemouth bass are also available.
Rock Creek Reservoir	Has been stocked and is open all year.
Roslyn Lake	Last stocked 5/03.
Timothy Lake	No Report.
Trillium Lake	No Report.
Wickiup Reservoir	Wickiup Reservoir water levels should be improved over last year. Kokanee numbers are expected to be low again this year, however, size should be improved. Kokanee will be scattered early in the season and begin schooling in channels sometime in June. Target shallow water flats early in the season and river channel areas as the water warms. There is a bonus bag limit on kokanee of 25 fish in addition to the trout bag limit. Good numbers of brown trout are available. Growth of brown trout has been very good due to high feed abundance. Most large browns are captured early in the season, both early and late in the day. Some large rainbow trout are available. There is no limit on size or number of warmwater gamefish, including bass, in Wickiup Reservoir.

Cascade Streamwatch
A place to visit while you recreate in our community.

Cascade Streamwatch is an aquatic interpretive center on the Salmon River within the Wildwood Recreational Sight, in the Hoodland community.
BLM Perspective

Take the board walk through the wet lands. Read about it. Enjoy the water color pictures.

At the center of this experience is an exposure to the inner personality of the Sandy River Watershed and its importance to all of the things that live within it.

In this under water chamber you will watch wild trout in their world.

There are kiosks and signs, as well as nature trails, sculptures and even an underwater viewing chamber where the lives of wild trout are portrayed in vivid detail.

This facility is a joint venture between volunteer groups, government agencies and private corporations to provide an educational experience for children and adults. It is also very relaxing and entertaining.

Please check it out next time you come to fish in our area.
Maps 138K - of Cascade Streamwatch
and its geographic position in our State.

	Weedless Mega-Diver Bass Flies
	Black	Striped Orange	Striped Mustard	Full Set
	You kick along stealthily in your pontoon boat fifty feet from the shore of the lake. The edge water is shallow. The bottom tapers gently from one to five feet deep. A mixture of floating algae mats, elodea, grasses, sedges, cattails and lily pads provide the perfect large mouth bass habitat. The air is dead calm and mellow with morning sun light. All is quiet.
Then there is a little quiver in the grass forty feet away.... A bass is stalking something, positioning for an ambush. You drop the mustard colored Diver gently....three feet in front of where you think the fish's nose is. There is no response to the bulky fly as it rests on the water...and you think you might be mistaken, or that the bass has slipped away unnoticed. Finally after several minute you barely move your rod tip, just enough to make the Diver turn a little and wiggle the soft silicone legs. Nothing can prepare you for the explosion as a large bass charges from two feet away, bronze colored back out of the water, white mouth wide open, and engulfs the fly with utter savagery. You set the hook and the rod is yanked down hard. You pull back with equal ferocity knowing that if you give the fish his head he will ball you up in the weeds and be gone. The fight is ended quickly and the fish is released to grow even bigger. Your Fly Fishing Shop Mega-Diver is still in great shape. Then you hunt....for the next fish.

The Black Mega-Diver is a quieter version of the Mega-Whammy Popper. This sharp pointed, weedless fly crawls through the weedly cover like a small animal foraging for food. The long seductive highly visible silicone legs pulse with life. Strip hard and the fly dives beneath the surface of the water with a loud gurrgle.. These Diver heads are Epoxy coated for shine and extreme durability!
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
99610-04	Mega-Diver Bass Fly, Black	4	$3.25
99610-06	Mega-Diver Bass Fly, Black	6	$3.25
99610-08	Mega-Diver Bass Fly, Black	8	$3.25

The Striped Fluorescent Orange Mega-Diver has to be one of the most lavish fly rod bass lures ever made. We added a full size picture just so you can get a better view. Don't let the garish appearance fool you. This fly really does catch fish, probably because few bass have seen anything like it. These Diver heads are Epoxy coated for shine and extreme durability!
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
00572-06	Mega-Diver Bass Fly, Striped Fl. Orange	6	$3.25

The Striped Mustard Mega-Diver is toned down to more nearly match natures colors. The yellowish & black tones could be frog-like or be a mouse or baby muskrat or a water dog or salamander. It could even be a baby bird....mmm yum. These Diver heads are Epoxy coated for shine and extreme durability!
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
00579-06	Mega-Diver Bass Fly, Striped Mustard	6	$3.25

Full set of 10 Mega-Divers: (2) of each size and color offered above. Black 2/#4, 2/#6, 2/#8; (2) Striped Fluorescent Orange 2/#6, and (2) Mustard color 2/#6 Divers. This set will cover a great many of the bass fishing situations you will encounter during the warmer months.
Item	Description	Price	To Top
DIVSET	Mega-Diver full set, Black 2-4, 2-6, 2-8, Fl Orange 2-6, Mustard 2-6, ten in all. Price includes postage in USA.	$31.95

A quick update from the Keys, the wind has been a major factor lately but is starting to subside. The tarpon run is well underway on the ocean side flats as is normal for May and June. We had action with 2 good size bones this AM and fished the tarpon all afternoon. Hundreds of fish poured by and we had good sunlight. But the fish were picky. After about 10 attempts and 2 fly changes we got a hook-up. The 70-pounder gave 3 good jumps before throwing the hook.
That was to be our only silver king for today but man what a show.

The tarpon are usually around in good numbers through about the 2nd week of July and then we go back into the backcountry for resident fish which are typically "laid-up". Of course there are bones, permit, jacks and many other species to catch here in the Florida Keys.

I still have some days open in June and July so give me a ring (or email) with any questions you may have. www.captchris.com

Thank You and tight lines to all.

Capt. Chris Morrison
Tel (305)743-6948

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