tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2181061678408323682.post8130193589960835053..comments2023-10-29T01:42:21.307-07:00Comments on Fly Paper: FISH XXII: First Fishing DayFly Paperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08490565567184565469noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2181061678408323682.post-46069198524763234692013-09-25T10:06:24.049-07:002013-09-25T10:06:24.049-07:00The Wigwam Club was (is?) the most secret, private...The Wigwam Club was (is?) the most secret, private, secured water I've ever seen. I used to lay awake at night trying to plot a way to poach it just to say I did. When I was there the upstream boundary was just wire with a couple signs hanging on it.Doug Jeffrieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06964780711233647604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2181061678408323682.post-90026820161908116642013-09-25T09:53:08.326-07:002013-09-25T09:53:08.326-07:00I've heard that anglers did that! Was the wate...I've heard that anglers did that! Was the water open or chicken wired?Fly Paperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08490565567184565469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2181061678408323682.post-15570245381292363242013-09-24T13:35:38.231-07:002013-09-24T13:35:38.231-07:00That's good to hear. It might be illegal to p...That's good to hear. It might be illegal to pellet feed fish since the pellets would potentially migrate downstream and alter the water quality. And that's an unintended benefit of these little oases of private water that see less pressure - once the population gets large enough, the fish have to migrate up or down and during spawning will move around quite a lot. I used to catch some nice fish immediately above the Wigwam Club on the S Platte when I was in college, fishing right at the No Trespassing wire.Doug Jeffrieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06964780711233647604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2181061678408323682.post-30624056348655481952013-09-24T11:23:24.437-07:002013-09-24T11:23:24.437-07:00Same question I asked!
They are not. They got the ...Same question I asked!<br />They are not. They got the ranch in 2006. The stream was a mess. Their first step was to keep the cattle out of the riparian area thus stopping the grazing of anything edible down to the nub streamside. They then allowed the beaver to build dams and let any fallen beetle killed trees to remain in the stream thus creating more holding water, which allowed the willows to get a foothold, which created undercut banks and deeper runs which allowed the aquatic plants to thrive which brought sow and cress bugs (they browse in the weeds like bonefish). We pumped the stomachs of a few fish and the contents were what you would expect: bugs, small beetles, a couple hoppers, lots of sow bugs, nymphs, scuds etc. They were stuffed full of natural food.<br />The good news is the public water above and below the ranch is better for the private water. I agree with you about private vs. public but in this case, it certainly doesn't hurt the public to have this nursery in the middle of the public areas.Fly Paperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08490565567184565469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2181061678408323682.post-66410834675453497022013-09-24T09:55:53.930-07:002013-09-24T09:55:53.930-07:00I'm not a fan of privatizing water (mostly bec...I'm not a fan of privatizing water (mostly because I don't control 3 or 4 miles of gold medal trout stream) but one has to admit that limiting the access and monitoring the C&R certainly allows the fish to grow to their full potential. Nearly every report from private water shows larger fish than typically seen from public water. I presume they aren't artificially feeding these fish.Doug Jeffrieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06964780711233647604noreply@blogger.com