"Bad Decisions Make Good Stories"
Hippy Tactical
June Fishing
One thing about the weather, the fishing has been good. There has been a pretty good drake hatch coming off some of my favorite Cameron County waters. Green drakes are sought after to fish with usually around Memorial Day weekend but with the chilly temps, they came off a little later. They usually continue to hatch through June though, so there is still time to take advantage.
The funny thing is that trout love them so much during a large hatch it can be hard to catch a fish during a boiling frenzy which can be frustrating. Other times when they are just coming off and just steady, not boiling, the fish are ready to hit anything. I’ve caught over a hundred trout in a couple of hours playing with a spinner during a steady drake hatch. Keep an eye out. The brown drake hatch, which on the Driftwood has always been more prominent than green drakes, is soon to start any week now. This part of the year, to me, is the prime time to fish our Big Woods streams. Palominos have been hitting yellow spinners, bye the way.
Rattlesnake season kicks off on the second Saturday of June and will bring in a lot of hunters. I don’t know how the season is shaping up and have fallen off the rattlesnake hunt radar for a few years. I was more into protecting them as a warden than hunting them myself. However, sources indicate there shouldn’t be much of a problem finding a nice snake for those so inclined. It’s hard to believe there was a time when hunters who hunted rattlers never found one. I think those days have passed and anyone who puts the time in will eventually find a snake. Muddy wanted to get one to knock off his outdoor bucket list, but it won’t be this year as I’ve got a couple weddings to attend that will pull me out of the woods. Maybe next year.
We finally got out for a boat ride on Kinzua. The water level is definitely at summer pool and 68 degrees. We managed to catch some bass while the family swam around the boat with the radio on, which was nice. Just a simple split shot on a slip bobber and letting it ride did the job. My grandson caught a pretty nice small mouth which I tried to convince him was the biggest fish he ever caught. He informed me that he has already caught a much bigger fish than the fifteen inch smally he pulled out. I’m pretty sure he needs to work on rigging yet and knots, but he’s got casting, retrieving and lying about the size of his fish down pretty well!
See you along the stream
