Heading to Tunkwa!

[Ruger]

my buddy and i are heading up to Tunkwa Lake tomorrow. we'll be there most of the day tomorrow and coming back late Thursday night. i've emailed the resort owners, and fishing seems to really be picking up. the cooler weather is bringing the bigger fish out of the depths and onto the shoals, providing some good chironomid and top water action in the mornings and evening. i'm looking forward to it alot!

it's going to be quite the learning experience for my buddy. he knows virtually nothing about fishing, nevermind fly fishing. i'll be hacing to coach him alot tomorrow, and hopefully by thursday afternoon, he'll be able to cast, and effectively fish the patterns. we'll be in the same boat, so i'll be there to give him pointers.

i'm thinking we'll start off trolling around the lake with one rod on a Pumpkinhead and another on a black or maroon micro lech. just kind of getting the feel for it and giving me time to brief him on basic lake structure, entomology and fishing techniques. towards evening, we'll probably try and find a sheltered bay and i'll get him started on chironomid and maybe dry fly fishing if there's a hatch of any kind coming off.

sounds like a plan?

[johnk]

Despite what the lodge says, if the fish are targetting emerging chironomid pupa you may want to set up for them during the day. I have seen chironomid hatches in the evening but it is more often than not the tailings of the afternoon hatch which sometimes lasts until dark. Trolled maroon leeches just before dark can be deadly if you're in tune with where the fish have been taking chironomids during the day as there is usually a good population stacked up in an isolated bay. Some of the biggest fish I've taken in Tunkwa have been in deep water with a bloodworm fished naked and static just before dark. To elaborate somewhat, after a hatch has died off the fish will slip into the deeper sections to feed on bloodworms that will more than likely be hatching the next day.

Before going out find out if the ranchers are draining water from Tunkwa to Leighton and if so fish the shallow bay directly in front of the weir. This process creates an underwater current which pulls the bloodworms out of the mud and the fish will be stacked up there gorging on them. Most importantly, have fun and stay safe!

[Ruger]

thanks for the tips johnk. i'll keep them in mind and give em a try. this will only be my second time at Tunkwa. i've fished Leighton once before as well. i really like the 2 lakes and want to get to know them alot better.

[Ruger]

well, i just got back from Tunkwa. actually, i got back 2 hours ago. i just got back from the medical clinic to get a hook removed from my thumb. #14 Adams. lol. slipped when i was tying the knot and embedded it above the barb into the meat of my thumb last night. couldn't get it out, so i cut it off and kept on fishing.

the plus side is about 20 minutes later, i landed a nice fat 1.5 - 2lb trout caught on a Tom Thumb. fishing overall was pretty slow. i got a 10 incher about 5 minutes after launching yesterday afternoon, trolling a Pumpkinhead. i got numerous strikes but no takes the rest of the day. my buddy got a bunch of strikes but no takers on a marroon micro leech.

we fished yesterday afternoon until teh wind picked up enough to force us off the water. went out at about 630 in teh evening again, and the water was nice and calm. there were about 6 other boats on the water, either casting, trolling or fishing chironomids. i didn't see any action from them, so we kept trolling the Pumpkinhead and Microleech. my buddy got a few more strikes on that. i started seeing fish jumping and rising everywhere. the dry fly man inside me couldn't stand it so i swapped out the chironomid on my 3wt to a dry fly. (first attempt at this ended in my thumb being stabbed and much cursing, second attempt went better). i put on a size 10 Tom Thumb and started casting it while i kept the boat moving for my buddy who wouldn't give up on the leech. just as it was getting almost too dark to see the fly, a fish came nearly vertical out of the water and grabbed my fly. it didn't feel very big at first, then teh weight really came onto the rod. it doubled over and the fight was on. short powerful runs, sounding, under the boat etc. no jumps though. the trout fought like a spring. 5 minutes later, i netted it and dispatched it to be brought home. it's probably one of the nicest fish i've caught all year.

after that, we headed into camp, hoping that the thunderstorm that had been building on the horizon would miss us. it did, but at about 4 am a torrential rain and pounding wind started. the tent got soaked, inside and out. by about 830am with no sign of it letting up, we called it quits, packed up and headed home. the original plan was to fish today as well, and head home tonight. my buddy didn't have any rain gear, so fishing in the rain was out. oh well. we'll give it another shot in the future i suppose.

final count. me: 2 fish, countless hits. buddy: no fish, about 2 dozen hits.

all in all, it was a good trip for what it was. i really like Tunkwa and Leighton and want to start fishing them more often.

i'll see if i can load the pics of my fish and the thunderstorm this evening.

Thunderstorm:






Fish: