Something those of us who chase SRCs in the Sound appreciate about the species is their tendency to show themselves when present. There seem to be at least two kinds of "shows" they exhibit: the slashing boil and the fully-breached, seemingly pointless leap entirely out of the water. I tend to get the best response from the slashers when I'm fortunate enough to get a cast in their direction before they move on, so I figure they are aggressively feeding, probably on baitfish. So what the heck are the jumpers doing? Eating something? Conducting a lookout? Is there a dry fly we should be chucking at those guys?
SRC Shows... What do they mean?
- Thread starter Shad
- Start date
I fish the slashers and jumpers the same.
Cover both. Sometimes it takes multiple casts to either to get an eat. No need in my opinion to change flies.
The jumpers just seem to be happy. I’m happy they are jumping, showing themselves and letting me know they are there.
Later in the year, like from December on you’ll get a third type of show. The sippers and dimplers. That means it is time to consider going to the small game. Think amphipods and euphausiids. Can drive you crazy but can be great if you get it dialed in.
SF
Cover both. Sometimes it takes multiple casts to either to get an eat. No need in my opinion to change flies.
The jumpers just seem to be happy. I’m happy they are jumping, showing themselves and letting me know they are there.
Later in the year, like from December on you’ll get a third type of show. The sippers and dimplers. That means it is time to consider going to the small game. Think amphipods and euphausiids. Can drive you crazy but can be great if you get it dialed in.
SF
In my opinion, they are there. It is up to you, Grasshopper , to find an offering. Yes, they can drive you crazy, but would you have it any other way? There is no magic answer, they are SRC’s.
Accept the challenge they offer you.
Accept the challenge they offer you.
I find the jumpers tend to be about 12-14 inches, often with a few friends, and often over water that hides something cool beneath it. They don't jump as much at low tide, and not when seals are around. I used to think they were feeding, but more think they are practicing some pack hunting behaviors, with the jumper basically telling their buds here's where practice is at...an alternate is it is the fish version of an alley oop, some prey got teed up for a direct from below ambush....you can often hear their tail fin going well into the jump, suggesting they are on full tilt for maximum air.
Regardless, casting to where the jumper was is a good plan, with an immediate hard strip on your fly's landing....
Regardless, casting to where the jumper was is a good plan, with an immediate hard strip on your fly's landing....
I like to think that jumpers, and this applies to just about any fish, don't actually know they are jumping. I like to picture them just cruising around, doing their thing, when they change their angle upward and are suddenly airborn. I picture them just cruising around all happy and then suddenly they are in the air thinking "Ohhhhhhh shit".
Surely this isn't the case, but I like to think it's so just cause it amuses me.
Surely this isn't the case, but I like to think it's so just cause it amuses me.
Love it. I like to think of it like a kid doing a cannonball into a pool.
East Coaster
Steelhead
Let me start by saying I have such limited SRC experience that I'm really guessing here, but from what I know about trout in rivers/streams, this might make sense. If the bait that the cutts are chasing is close to the surface, I would expect the cutts to be closer to the surface and have less likelihood to go fully airborne - they will slash at the fish because they're at the same level in the water column more or less. Just like trout taking mayflies off the surface during a healthy hatch. If the bait are mostly deeper, then the cutts would also be deeper, and if they see a target close to the surface (or are chasing a fleeing baitfish heading up), then their momentum will take them out of the water. Just like trout taking caddis emergers, which swim up to the surface and break through, rather than drift along. And the dimpling that @Stonedfish describes is most similar to trout sipping during a spinner fall - those spinners are just drifting and aren't going to fly off, so the trout can be lazy. Just a thought........
Alternatively the jumper is the stoned out of his gourd buddy...
"Wait....what....where'd everybody....woooooah....check this out....I'm like... flying...dude.... are you getting this?"
My fishing partner and I have become convinced that the jumpers - typically showing themselves either right after one of us says "you want to try somewhere else" or at the sound of reeling up - are designated decoys. Their job is to stay far from where the school is feeding, and leap whenever the fisher people appear to have given up on the empty water.
I don't know saltwater, but for fish in general, other than the crazy jumping new plants maybe just having fun, later in the year I often think there is something in the water making them uncomfortable. Larger fish looking to eat them or take their feeding position, or the otters, just something that they want away from, even a crowd of other fish. But I don't really know. If I'm close I'll cast but I won't move to jumpers, don't have much luck chasing jumpers.
Last edited:
Pink Nighty
Life of the Party
I think this might just be the case. They are charging up in the water column, minding their own business when for a second they enter the shadow realm before plunging back to reality.
They probably start laughing watching me run 50 yards in thigh-deep water for the one Jumper I have seen all day.
Last weekend was my first SRC outing for the fall/winter season. Nothing like a 80 degree day in Oct, but fish showed. The best fish of the day was a slasher.
Last weekend was my first SRC outing for the fall/winter season. Nothing like a 80 degree day in Oct, but fish showed. The best fish of the day was a slasher.
This thread is probably as good a place as any to post my experience yesterday.
I decided to hit my local beach, for the exercise if nothing else. Having no idea what effect the first rain of the season would have, I figured any action would count as a win. It seemed slow, water was murky, and nothing showing. Then a moth caught on the surface drifted by, fluttering noisily in an attempt to break free. Fifty feet down the beach I saw a fish swirl at it and miss. Further along the beach a seagull walked down to the water, swam out and leisurely ate the moth.
I cast the Clouser I had on at the time over the fish's location with no response. About a half hour later, having switched to a gurgler, a 12" Cutt took my fly in pretty much that exact spot. It's always worth casting to an SRC show.
And @Squatchin- you'll do much better getting out of the water and hustling down the beach. 'Faster, easier, stealthier; but you knew that.
I decided to hit my local beach, for the exercise if nothing else. Having no idea what effect the first rain of the season would have, I figured any action would count as a win. It seemed slow, water was murky, and nothing showing. Then a moth caught on the surface drifted by, fluttering noisily in an attempt to break free. Fifty feet down the beach I saw a fish swirl at it and miss. Further along the beach a seagull walked down to the water, swam out and leisurely ate the moth.
I cast the Clouser I had on at the time over the fish's location with no response. About a half hour later, having switched to a gurgler, a 12" Cutt took my fly in pretty much that exact spot. It's always worth casting to an SRC show.
And @Squatchin- you'll do much better getting out of the water and hustling down the beach. 'Faster, easier, stealthier; but you knew that.
skyrise
Steelhead
then there is the weather change thing, like when we have a dry spell and the fish are in that bad mood you know they are there but it’s all no shows. Then it rains and the water comes alive with fish jumping, rolling etc. have seen it enough times on the river to be convinced the fish are happy and blowing off some steam.
