11-08-2012, 03:35 PM
I definitely donated more lead to the trees and sage brush this trip than any trip this entire season, but as you so appropriately state on a regular basis, "You can't catch them where they ain't". The problem was amplified when the breeze kicked up making a vertical presentation nearly impossible without a heavy jig head. I finally had to go to 1/4 oz gum ball to get anywhere near vertical and then the wind was constantly driving me off my small cloud of fish and dragging my line through the branches and brush instead hanging straight down in it.
Yesterdays fishing conditions highlight where a float tube has an advantage in the wind over a pontoon. It takes considerable more effort to stay put sitting higher on the water, and the pontoon constantly wants to go perpendicular to the wind direction which makes kicking to stay in place even more difficult. Not a big deal flinging a fly line in open water, but if you want to hold over structure in any kind of wind, the tube is the better way to go. Of course an anchor on the pontoon can help, but only if you bring it. This was the first trip this year I decided to leave my anchor at home since I haven't used it lately. That decision crossed my mind every time I had to go back around to find the fish again, and again, and again. That won't happen again. Just like the worms sitting in my lunch bag in the car. That won't happen again either, maybe.
I also thought about going to the vertical lure body jigs as you did, but I'm saving mine for the ICE, or at least until I fabricate up some of my own to donate.
I wonder if a weedless hook on your vertical jig would cut back on the snags in a heavy sagebrush area like we were fishing? Might be a worthy experiment unless you've already done that one. Probably miss more hooks sets though.
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Yesterdays fishing conditions highlight where a float tube has an advantage in the wind over a pontoon. It takes considerable more effort to stay put sitting higher on the water, and the pontoon constantly wants to go perpendicular to the wind direction which makes kicking to stay in place even more difficult. Not a big deal flinging a fly line in open water, but if you want to hold over structure in any kind of wind, the tube is the better way to go. Of course an anchor on the pontoon can help, but only if you bring it. This was the first trip this year I decided to leave my anchor at home since I haven't used it lately. That decision crossed my mind every time I had to go back around to find the fish again, and again, and again. That won't happen again. Just like the worms sitting in my lunch bag in the car. That won't happen again either, maybe.
I also thought about going to the vertical lure body jigs as you did, but I'm saving mine for the ICE, or at least until I fabricate up some of my own to donate.
I wonder if a weedless hook on your vertical jig would cut back on the snags in a heavy sagebrush area like we were fishing? Might be a worthy experiment unless you've already done that one. Probably miss more hooks sets though.
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