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John's Journal...
Entry 206,
Day 2
FLY-FISHING WITH JOHN AND ELIZABETH EISENBARTH
Eisenbarth's Favorite Flies
EDITOR'S
NOTE: John Eisenbarth, owner of Riverside Outfitters
and Fly Shop, and his wife Elizabeth, have fished the Sipsey Fork, the
tailwaters of Smith Lake, for 13 years.
Question: What type of flies do you use in the tailrace
to catch trout?
Answer: The dominant insect in our tail waters is the chironomid, commonly
referred to as midges. They are two-winged insects that live their lives
on the bottom of the river. Some people call them bloodworms. When they
get ready to change or pupae, they become a two-winged insect, fill the
pupae with air and float to the surface. They break out of the shucks
when they reach the surface of the water, ride down stream, dry their
wings and then fly off. The trout usually feed on them as they come up
from the bottom and try to break out of their shells. We use ants as well
because they are always in the water. In the spring, ants fall in the
water by the millions when mating. Ants also wash into the water when
the turbines are turned-on and the water washes into the bushes. Ants
are a good food source for trout across the country. We also have occasional
caddisfly and mayfly hatches take place. There are always grasshoppers,
leafhoppers, shad and other minnows in the water.
Question:
What are your five favorite flies for fishing below the Lewis-Smith Dam?
Answer: The Elk hair caddis tied between an 18 and a 16 is one favorite.
We don't have many caddisflies, but the fly itself is a good generic pattern.
My second favorite would be a CDC caddis tied on a size 20. Instead of
using elk hair, this fly has a CDC feather that comes from a duck. Another
favorite is a midge pattern. We call it an over-the-rainbow pattern. I'll
also use my Big Ass Madam, which is a generic fly tied on about an eight
or a 10 that represents grasshoppers and mayflies as a strike indicator
when I drift a weighted fly underneath. Often, I'll catch just as many
trout on the Big Ass Madam on top as I do on the weighted fly drifting
underneath. I also like to use a variation of a wooly bugger that we refer
to as a Fat-Head Bug. The Fat-Head can represent anything from a damselfly
to a minnow.
Riverside Outfitters and Fly Shop is located in Jasper,
off Hwy 69 N, 4 miles below the Smith Lake dam. For more information,
call John Eisenbarth at (256) 287-0050, go to www.1flyfish.com
or e-mail him at JE@1flyfish.com.
TOMORROW: EISENBARTH'S CLIENTELE
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