Lee's Ferry & calories?!

[Mr. Loopy]

I was reading an article on Lee's Ferry in a recent issue of Southwest fly fishing magazine. The article stated that a fly must be presented right in front of the fish because they will not move any more than needed to get food. The reason being, they do not want to burn valuable calories.
The article said that because the fish feed on scuds and midges that are mainly small, they don't have extra calories to burn.
My thought is: "If it the fish don't have the energy to feed wouldn't a tough fought catch-and-release produce a high mortality rate at Lee's Ferry??

I have never been there. Anyone have any opinions on this?

[mcgx2]

I think what they were probably trying to say and didn't to it very well (I didn't read the article) is that fish will not expend more energy than its worth for a food source. So if eating a midge gives a fish x amount of energy to survive, the fish won't spend y (where y > x) amount of energy to eat it. If it did they your conclusion would be right.

I believe and think it more realistic that fish eat more than just small scuds and midges at times, and if they only do eat those the eat them in enough numbers to make the fish strong enough in order to spawn, be hooked and released, etc.

I most likely think the author was trying to make a point which sometimes may be valid. I don't think he explained himself well. Of course this explanation may suffer some of the same shortcomings but I hope it helps.

mcg

[Larry S.]

There is or was a fly that was supposed to be hot down there called "The Unbelievable". Very easy to tie. I have never fished down there and cannot attest to its effectiveness but I can send you a picture if you would like. It is supposed to represent the "dry scud" hatch you mentioned.

[Jason B]

I have fished at Lee's Ferry and caught some very nice rainbows. Most of the fish i took were on a san juan worm. The fish would gather below me. Larry could you send me one of those pictures? Thanks
Mcgx2 is correct in what he says, the number of fish down there is unbelievable.

[Fred]

Never heard of a dry scud hatch. LOL. Sounds like something someone came up with after drinking a twelve pack.

What is it?

[Jason]

I've actually heard the opposite. I've never fished Lee's Ferry so I can't give personal experiences. But I've heard and read that there are so many scuds and midges in the water that they don't have to move very far to have dinner, not because they're saving strength. They can sit in one place all day and get plenty of food. I had a friend fish it in October I believe, and the midges were very thick. He couldn't keep the fish off his line. That statement in the article about saving calories doesn't make sense to me.

[Fred]

Interesting. Thanks. I didn't think that scuds hatched. LOL.

[Jason B]

Curtis is correct, the scuds get stranded and dry which turns them a orange color.

[Larry S.]

After much searching through my"stuff" I finally found it. I could have saved myself a lot of grief if I'd only went there first.

VFS archives under Unbelievable. So simple,so simple......

[Jason B]

Its a long address but

http://www.flyshop.com/scripts/Flies/bigfly.cfm?bigpic=unbel.jpg&photocredit=David%20Siegfried&flyname=Unbelievable

weird looking fly