Entry by Ty Holloway
Spring stillwater fishing is a practice of mine that receives little respect or glory. It is hard to walk into the shop and discuss how many u.b.d.’s (unidentified bobber downs), or how many minutes dragged on in between each successfully landed fish. Stillwaters do have their rewards however… Solitude, beautiful scenery, and the opportunity for some truly freakishly sized fish.
Bobber fishing with chironomids isn’t for everyone however, staring long enough at a floating orange thing, then gazing off into the tree lined shore and then realizing you are experiencing mild vertigo. It is not technical, nor does it require any sort of casting prowess. You are just as likely to hook a fish by dangling your bugs just off the side of the boat as you are to bomb an 80 foot cast off into the abyss. All that is needed to be a successful chironomid fisherman is patience, and maybe a six pack. I will warn you, the surest way of getting a take is to look away for a split second to grab a cold one.
We are in an area that is blessed with great lakes that are perfectly suited to fly fishing, all of which are often over looked due their more famous moving water counterparts. Which is perfectly fine with me. Hebgen, Cliff, Wade, Island Park, Henry’s, Quake, and Ennis lake all offer world class stillwater fishing. All also have an abundance of chironomid hatches which occur just after ice out until the end of spring.
That’s all that needs to be said about bobber fishing, or maybe that’s all that can be said. Either way, I encourage you to stray from the flowing water and dabble with this lake fishing thing. You won’t be disappointed, or maybe you will.
One Comment
Good writing. More interesting than the vibram sales stuff. I do enjoy bobber fishing. I am glad you called it what it is “bobber fishing” not stike indicator fishing. When I get tired of chucking streamers (arthritic shoulder) I go back to bobbers which is becoming my favorite way to fish. Well done and thanks for the thoughful prose.