Boulder Creek High Water 101

Another fishing trip? Again? A week ago, you said Boulder Creek was too high to fish! Now, you're fishing it every day. What happened? Stoneflies and streamers happened. Stoneflies? Ya, stoneflies. Czech Nymphs fished under a big stonefly. Wrecking fish right around trees and bushes. My friend  caught the fish right at the top of the page on a size 8 double bead stonefly. The only trick between catching these fish and missing all your strikes is an indicator. If you fish an indicator, most of the time you will miss your strikes. You don't have enough feel to tell the difference between a weird drift and a bite. Without, you can feel everything well enough to find fish. But if you're not into Czeching, the other best tactic for catching the fish is streamers. Anything bright enough for them to see, and the right size for them to get into their mouths. The fish right below here was caught on a Goldi Lox Bugger, in size 8.

 The trick to streamers here kind of depends on each cast. Fist few casts, strip as fast as you can. Once you get the fish's attention, slow down your strips so they can start to follow and attack it. Once the strips slow down enough, and the fish is still excited, he will grab the fly full force, and will usually hook itself. If you set the hook, you will usually be pulling straight upstream, which will pull the fly out of the fish's mouth. Instead, continue stripping in line. If the fish hits and you strip, the fish will close it's mouth to keep it's "meal" in it's mouth. When you strip line in, and the mouth is closed, the fly will pull right into the fish's mouth. Magic, you've got yourself a fish. Now be careful as you fight the fish, as even a small one can break you off in the rapids. The current is rushing, even when you can't see it. Although the water in the picture below looks relatively calm, I couldn't make it all the way across.

The under-current is flying to a point where a wading staff might even be a good idea for some people. The fishing is still good though, so get out there! And remind yourself, only a couple more months before the dry fly bite is on again!