Had a chance to test out 50/50 Dick Nites on Sunday while I was getting "schooled" by some egg drifters.

Saturday I did good float fishing eggs for silvers and thought that same pattern would work for me on Sunday. Well.. it might have if I'd gotten to the hole about 2 hours earlier.. before the other guys did. Couldn't get over to my spot.

After a couple of hours of fishing with minimal hits, decided to switch rods. Started getting some hits with eggs free drifted on the bottom.. but still getting "schooled" by the guys out in the main current.

Then God spoke to me thru the guy fishing next to me. Guy asked innocently "has anybody been throwing any Dick Nites?"

I switched to the largest of the 3 Dick Nites (50/50 color) and hung a fish on the first cast. The guy next to me hadn't even finished tying his knot. Then on about every other cast I was getting whacks by fish.

Had one moose of a silver decide he wanted a try at my spoon... Shoot it felt like I'd hung a mid-teens king as it went where it wanted to go.. and after toying with me it decided it wanted my spoon and also wanted to go downstream. Couldn't even stop it.

Rooted around and found a wee Dick Nite in 50/50 and wondered if it would do as good as it's bigger brother. Turned out the little guy was even nastier than it's big brother.

In a 30 minute period I'd limited on silvers and that was with turning some back.

Never saw a 30 minute period like that before, except on humpies in the salt.

P.S. Ron, I heard that fly guys were fishing egg flies up here earlier and doinq quite well. Floods changed the river channel and the spot they stood in isn't there anymore.

Zen ,Zen,Zen: Shame on ya tossing those bicolored METAL Flies at unsuspecting salmons.

A shooting head fast sink with some feathered aggrivator patterns, or else (aaaaak) spawn sack flies,will get you just as many salmon with a lot more grace from the fishing Gods.

I should talk, during a bad lull in the chironomid fishing on Nunnally this year I reverted to using the ( Shhhhh, don't tell everyone) RUBBER leach. Made outa half a slice of silicone worm complete w/ gold glitter threaded on a barbless hook.

And it worked too. Sometimes you gotta revert to drastic methods to avoid the dreaded SKUNK!

shame on both of you!! i'm gonna report ya both to fly fisherman magazine! you can anticipate that your subscriptions will be immediately cancelled, with NO refunds.

john

I suspect a similar report will be posted after this next weekend. I'm picking up some more 50/50 Dick Nites for additional "testing" in local freshwater salmon areas.

Gonna try some on 10 lb Power Pro and see how the salmon like that. Bet they don't pop that line... rod maybe.. but not the line.

Tough Luck Big John,
They already suspended me last year for accidentally spilling Powerbait "Trout Attractant" on one of my Chironomids. They said "Don't come back untill you can tie a perfect size 28 midge"! I think they knew I waz half blind.

But hey, Accidents Happen!

BTW, I got an 11 foot Cabellas "float tuber" rod this year for deep water dredging with those 25 foot leaders.

And I named it ..........."BIG JOHN".

I can tie a #28 midge... it's just a tapered ball of thread on a tiny hook.

FISHINFELLAS: dang, an 11-foot rod, huh. well, i reckon you could use that as a "push pole" to shove your float tube around the lake!

if i see a float-tuber on the north end of lake lenore with a skinny rod as long as a telephone pole, i'll figger it's you, sneaking down here from grand coulee.

naming that rod BIG JOHN is either the smartest or the dumbest thing you could do, tho . . . . . . time will tell.

what i know about fly fishing you could put in your eye and it wouldn't blur your vision. i DO have a herters fiberglass fly rod and a medalist reel, however; bought 'em in the 60's and never could figure how to cast worth a darn.

i do wish you specialist fishermen good luck, however; in the mean time i'll keep dragging my heavy gear around, looking for walleye or large 'bows (landed a 20 inch bow in banks lake last week).

Ron,

I got me two of them long rods. Got two that are 10'6" long.. I use both of them for tossing floats and jigs (or whatever).

Last year when I tried float fishing for the first time I thought it was just like fly fishing with the float acting as a fly. This year I've taken to running fly line cleaner (ala mucilin) on my spinning line to make it float so I can mend it.... just like mending a fly line.

Dang... the more things change, the more they remain the same.

Well John Boy, you might see me on Lenore most any time it's open, but not with "Big John". Lenore only 10-12' deep at deepest and I perfer the little 2wt. or my 4wt. Sage for Chironomiding Lenore. Big John is baaaaad enuff to raise the fly outa the depths of Grimes and some other deep lakes without incessant false casting. I know he gonna work good even if tagged with a "quiestionable" name.

You should try it. Flyfishing chronies does NOT take casting skill (just ask Zen, he knows I'm a klutz at casting but still catch lotsa biiiiig trout.),and your existing rod/reel will work fine. Just hang em 1-2' off the bottom under a strike indicator (tiny bobber) and SET THE HOOK soon as the bobber go down.

Really, It's much more FUN than dragging around
"Heavy Metal" and hooking fish with those big barbless Siwash hooks, though legal, on many C&R waters is NOT condusive to good catch and release survival.

What am I doing???? We need another flyfisherman pounding Lenora like a hole in the head.

Fishinfella, I will be at the same spot you saw M.B. this weekend. I will be there with Jose on thursday and friday. Zen, when are you gonna come back to the correct side ?

Tm.... maybe when you come over for your next fly tying lesson... might be what I need to get me back on the road to redemption...

Other than that... dyed up some grocery store shrimp this weekend and tried them under floats for salmon. Boy... the salmon like shrimp... but it didn't seem they liked them any better than cluster eggs. Both worked this weekend.

The 50/50 Dick Nite did not reign for me this weekend. One group was still talking about "this guy who was knocking them dead on a Dick Nite last weekend...."

Master of all TROUTS: Me and Microbrew had a good time even if it did freeze and snow on us.
Microbrew waz *****ing though cause his coffee water froze.

After he left Sunday I started hanging a special
leech under the bobber and hammered about
15-20 in 2 hours before my fingers froze together.

I fear Zen has gone too far into the darkness to return. He's using heavy metal now and acccccck even BAIT,dying his own shrimps. I'm sure he's smoking and eating those helpless salmons too. It may be impossible to bring him back.l......but tell him I can teach him how to catch the big ones with leaches under the bobber.....that might just do it.

I could bring some smoked salmon along on a trip if someone would teach me what a tapered leader is.

Zen the Leecher: a tapered leader is a leader specially developed for tossing Dick Nites at large salmon!

Use the 6X one, sos they can't see the leader.

Tee,hee,hee,hee!

Bring a biiiiig sack of that salmon if you come next week. We don't see much of it over here and you do need some serious atonement before I can teach you to fish leaches under the bobber.

I may have a resurgence in fly fishing next year. I plan on taking a fly rod along for shad down below the John Day dam. Down there it's possible to fish for them with a 5 wt rod and not the heavier rods like used below Bonneville.

One of them speedsters on a 5 wt will be fun. A whole day of them will be a workout.

I tried to smoke some salmon once, But my lighter kept going out ,and the damn fish plugged my pipe.
Fishinfella, we will get to the area around 11 am on thursday. Hope to see you there.
Zen oh DARk one, I may soon need that lesson as I fly fish alot. Yes I said Fly fish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think that dick nite waz a tad to big and you were actually knocking the fish out with it!!

Oh young TroutMaster... still the witty one and still into flyline purity....

Well... let me tell you.. it is true.. size matters, numbers count and something big thrashing around on the end of your line is a hoot...

calming down now...

I am exploring other means trying to find the secret to creating the perfectly shaped fly.

yours in ooommmmm...

the zen leecher

Zen, my flies I tye are not the prettiest flies in fact one may wonder what I have at the end of my leader. But all that counts is that they catch fish most of the time. Now on your comment about whats on the end of the line thrashing around? Have you ever seen what a fatblackosodog does when she gets hooked by one of my flies? Soon oh dark one I will be ready to take more lessons. Youre not gonna try to turn me to the other side are you?

chest waders! DANG IT, where are my chest waders?? it is getting pretty deep here! (and are my chest waders resistant to most barnyard acids?)

TM,

Won't try to convert you. You fit perfectly where you are right now.

Later on when I incorporate my findings from this year into new and unique flies.... you will sing my praises!!