Blood Midging at Frenchman's Lake

Blood Midging at Frenchman's Lake - Fishing Tips and Photos provided by Shelley (a local fisherman)

We returned on Thursday with our floatubes. JC landed 4, and I landed 3. We walked through the snow from the main road at the Spring Creek Boat Ramp, it would have been an easier route down with a snowboard, but we knew we would be too tired to carry them up at the end of the day.


The view from the boat ramp, it was nice launching our floatubes from the boat ramps. The solitude is incredible here while the boaters are snowed out! I trolled around with my intermediate sinking line with a ruby wooly bugger. I caught my first one at about 16 seconds deep, kick trolling, then turning while twitching the end of the pole, he hooked on the first strip after the turn.

Then JC started getting better action on the Blood Midge Brassie, with a floating line, using an indicator on his tippet at around 4 feet deep. It was relaxing fishing this Blood Midge Brassie technique on our floatubes with a light cool wind at our backs. Sometimes the fish hit the Brassie while it is suspended from your indicator with only the movement that the wind at the surface of the water creates, if you see your indicator totally disappear then you usually have a bite when you pull up your pole.


Other catches have happened when I give a slow strip in on my line after it has been suspending for a while, these catches feel great because you feel the fish hit it hard. The fish thinks that the Brassie is a Blood Midge worm getting ready to emerge up out of the water, grow wings and fly away, The fish has to attack it before it flies away. I think the Blood Midge is a major food source for the Rainbows at Frenchman's. We see many of those, and Damsel nymphs hatch over the season at Frenchman's.

-- Shelley