5 versus 2

This was the the dilemma I was confronted with on Monday, 5 versus 2. I could get up crazy early on Tuesday morning and fish for 5 hours or I could go out Monday evening and fish for 2. If all my dilemmas were this difficult, I think my hair wouldn't be graying at such an exponential clip these days.

Two hours it is! This was a spur of the moment, after dinner, run to the water. I hadn't really planned on fishing but I could not get the thought of gentle rises and splashy nettings out of my head. My ever understanding wife wished me luck as I took off in hopes of finding a decent spot given my late start. When I make these last minute runs, I usually forget something important...yes, I have gotten to the river only to find I had no boots in the car. This time, I was good to go and even thought to bring my headlamp which I neglected last time.

I arrived at my destination to find the pull off full. A valet would have been desirable however, I was able to squeeze into a spot nearby. Everyone must be car pooling as it wasn't until I was geared up and down the bank that I noticed just how many anglers were scattered throughout this area. No worries, for some reason, I just thought that they were on their way out and if I hung around, I would be able to settle in to the stretch I was looking for tonight. I'm glad it worked out this way as I fished the far bank, to a couple rising fish. Again, a lesson learned, I was fishing this slot to kill time before moving the the area I really wanted to be at...wrong...I stopped casting to these couple of fish and just watched. I watched the rises, the rhythm and the bugs, all the while, trying to determine an attack. I had blinders on at this point, as I could tell there was 1 nice fish in this area. Even though it looked like the America's Cup of big bugs floating down the lanes, I tied on a sz 18 EH Caddis and went to work. Casting from the middle of the river, with varying current speeds was making this another interesting test of my developing skills. Somewhere around a dozen casts later, a gentle sip, a proper hookset ( for once ) and it was on.

Wild, I think but I may be mistaken

I was fishing this same area recently and it was packed with Rainbows. Bringing this Brown to net made the catch even more enjoyable. By no means am I a fish snob, really, I am happy to hook anything and size doesn't matter...at least here. I know bows feed with a great reckless abandon than Browns and this is why I am always pleased to fool a Brown.

Once I had finished the photo op, I looked upstream and noticed lots of room had opened up. I waded to the far bank and trekked up a couple hundred yards before wading back into the mix. I spent the next  30 minutes casting to consistent rises without even a nudge. I switched from caddis to sulphurs to spinners and could not buy slurp. The anglers below me were sporadically hooking up but the guys above me were lighting it up big time. Fortunately, I don't get frustrated when fishing. I view the refusals as me needing to be more in tune with what the fish want. As I was rummaging through the fly box, I heard one of the guys above me say something about a "Usual" - thank god sound travels well on water as these guys were a few hundred yards from me. With no "Usual" in the box, I decided to to go with a feeling. I tied on a sz 10 parachute Adams and, first cast - no shit - first cast, fish on. 

Adams was the ticket

Now to see if that fly selection was a chance occurrence. After checking the knot, I continued to toss the Adams and was now regularly into browns. I'm glad this fly was working as the size combined with  the hi visibility foam on top made picking up the fly in the diminishing light that much easier. The last fish of the night was a a really cool hook up. At this point, 9:30 or so, I couldn't really see the fly so I was casting straight across from my position and working on feel. A few more casts across and I set the hook to a splash and immediate down stream run. A short battle ensued and the final fish of the evening found his way to me.

I've spent more time fishing dries lately and, with each cast and mend, feel more comfortable on the water. Euro-nymphing was / is a great way to start of catching fish however, I am glad I stuck with the dries as well. Tightlines and Happy 4th of July!