Back Lake Fishing Report: 7/4

Happy Independence Day everyone – we hope that you’re enjoying it with family or friends and thinking about all of the reasons that the U.S. is a special place to be. With the hexagenia hatch on Back Lake all but a memory now, you would think that the fishing on our lake is in the doldrums … not so!

Our guests are still doing relatively well on the lake, trolling flies or lures when appropriate, and landing some nice rainbows. Some of them have been hefty and energetic, making for good battles on a fly rod. The fly of choice lately has been the Wood Duck Heron, fished near the surface according to reports. The Wood Duck Heron is a great representation of the hex emerger, so the fish still seem to be keying in on the giant mayflies, even though the vast majority of the hatch is over.

River flows remain low and consistent. The Trophy Stretch flows at 98 CFS, and Murphy Dam is at 180 CFS. While we have been getting some rain this past week, we still need quite a bit more to effect any change in the river flows. Nymphs continue to outperform every other method of fly fishing right now – Pat’s Rubber Legs, BH Prince, TB Weight Fly, and BH Black Stone seem to be performing well right now, but nearly anything fished slow and low should do the trick.

Dries have had their moments too, depending on hatching activity – the Klinkhammer, Stimulator, and Hot Mess Caddis have been more than good at times. Of course, we are also entering our terrestrial season, so remember to bring some Hoppers, Beetles, Ants and the Cicada to the river when you go – it’s a lot of fun watching fish come up to take your floating foam offering.

Summer is flying by and so is fishing season … get out there and wet a line before it’s over!