Crescent Lake Report

[stillwater97]

Fished Crescent on Sunday for a few hours. We hooked and landed several browns in the 20-25 inch range.. nothing big, but better than a sharp stick in the eye. It was cold & wet.

I also landed this little guy.

Not my biggest lake trout out on flies @ Crescent, but I was really happy to see this come out of the depths.

[PTS]

Nice fish, Mark! Not like that beauty you caught awhile back though. I would like to see pics of those nice browns too. The last two years I've missed out on the Fall big brown fishing in the CO lakes. It's a bit of work from a pontoon. Put me on your list for a trip next Fall.

[mckenzieguy]

Good to see that ugly face...

Steve

[sfabian31]

I am new to stream fly fishing and never lake fly fished, how do you do it.

[stillwater97]

Originally Posted by sfabian31

I am new to stream fly fishing and never lake fly fished, how do you do it.

First off, you need some slightly different gear than you do for moving water. 95% of the time you will be fishing sub-surface. You need at least two lines besides your floater. You need (have to have) a clear intermediate line. I prefer the Cortland Clear camo. This will fish waters from 6 inches to 8 foot depths. Then you need a type 6 full sink or shooting head (I like shooting head lines but its just a preference) This will cover water from 7 foot to 20 foot.


big fish seldom eat #18 midges on the surface. They want meat.

Get some flurocarbon leader and tippet. 4X and 3X are about all you need for stillwaters.

Flies... buggers, buggers, soft hackles, big ugly streamers, all sorts of colors and buggers.

I'd pick up a 6wt too.

Work on your casting a lot. Get really proficient in casting your sinking lines accurately out to 60-70 foot minimum.


Spend a lot of time on the water. The fish aren't everywhere and you need to learn where they go and what their habits are.

Fish when others are back at camp, asleep, etc. I've caught quite a few really really nice fish in the middle of the day when nobody was on the water. I've also caught fish 1/2 hour before daylight when it was 10 degrees, snowing sideways, and ice was building up in my guides. Just spend a lot of time out on the water.


Oh, and you really need a boat or at minimum a float tube with fins.



If you want to go out sometime, and you are in bend, look me up and I'd be happy to try and meet up with you and give you a few pointers.

Good luck!

[schwen]

Nice photo, nice fish! It makes it look a lot more sunny and warm than it really was!

It was nice to meet you at the lake on Sunday! Sounds like you guys had a good day. Hope our paths cross again.

And thanks for the tips!

[salmonslug]

Originally Posted by stillwater97

First off, you need some slightly different gear than you do for moving water. 95% of the time you will be fishing sub-surface. You need at least two lines besides your floater. You need (have to have) a clear intermediate line. I prefer the Cortland Clear camo. This will fish waters from 6 inches to 8 foot depths. Then you need a type 6 full sink or shooting head (I like shooting head lines but its just a preference) This will cover water from 7 foot to 20 foot.


big fish seldom eat #18 midges on the surface. They want meat.

Get some flurocarbon leader and tippet. 4X and 3X are about all you need for stillwaters.

Flies... buggers, buggers, soft hackles, big ugly streamers, all sorts of colors and buggers.

I'd pick up a 6wt too.

Work on your casting a lot. Get really proficient in casting your sinking lines accurately out to 60-70 foot minimum.


Spend a lot of time on the water. The fish aren't everywhere and you need to learn where they go and what their habits are.

Fish when others are back at camp, asleep, etc. I've caught quite a few really really nice fish in the middle of the day when nobody was on the water. I've also caught fish 1/2 hour before daylight when it was 10 degrees, snowing sideways, and ice was building up in my guides. Just spend a lot of time out on the water.


Oh, and you really need a boat or at minimum a float tube with fins.



If you want to go out sometime, and you are in bend, look me up and I'd be happy to try and meet up with you and give you a few pointers.

Good luck!

Thanks for this post. This is what I like about iFish.-- insight on effective technique and a genuine willingness to teach and help others. And, no, I have no plans to head to Crescent in the near future. I think your advice transcends space and time.

[stillwater97]

Schwen,

good to see you up there.

Spend some time off of Simax. that fish was taken in about 15 feet of water.

[mini-e]

Originally Posted by stillwater97

First off, you need some slightly different gear than you do for moving water. 95% of the time you will be fishing sub-surface. You need at least two lines besides your floater. You need (have to have) a clear intermediate line. I prefer the Cortland Clear camo. This will fish waters from 6 inches to 8 foot depths. Then you need a type 6 full sink or shooting head (I like shooting head lines but its just a preference) This will cover water from 7 foot to 20 foot.


big fish seldom eat #18 midges on the surface. They want meat.

Get some flurocarbon leader and tippet. 4X and 3X are about all you need for stillwaters.

Flies... buggers, buggers, soft hackles, big ugly streamers, all sorts of colors and buggers.

I'd pick up a 6wt too.

Work on your casting a lot. Get really proficient in casting your sinking lines accurately out to 60-70 foot minimum.


Spend a lot of time on the water. The fish aren't everywhere and you need to learn where they go and what their habits are.

Fish when others are back at camp, asleep, etc. I've caught quite a few really really nice fish in the middle of the day when nobody was on the water. I've also caught fish 1/2 hour before daylight when it was 10 degrees, snowing sideways, and ice was building up in my guides. Just spend a lot of time out on the water.


Oh, and you really need a boat or at minimum a float tube with fins.



If you want to go out sometime, and you are in bend, look me up and I'd be happy to try and meet up with you and give you a few pointers.

Good luck!

What great post!!