Happy 4th
July 1, 2010
Here’s Foxy with one last Hex fish for the year.
It was a strange go this year chasing the big flies. All the hatches started early and we fished hard starting with Hendricksons. Drakes were all but over by early June and we saw the first Hex on the mill pond in town the last days of May. Frankly, I’m exhausted. Many, many late nights stalking moonlit trout flat wears a fella out.
I took Monday and Tuesday off . . . first day off since winter. House was a mess. Lawn unkept. Can’t even talk about the state of my garage. And I, honestly, hadn’t talked to my wife for more than a few minutes in passing since mid-April. She wakes up early to run a few miles before work (not something we have in common). And I fish until the fish quit rising (again, not something we have in common).
But one beautiful personality trait we do share is that we let one another be their own person. I pretty much re-fell in love with Gloria one night in late May. I went fishing directly after work; hadn’t talked to her for a couple of days and didn’t talk to her that night before fishing. Long story short, I roll into the drive around 4:30 am and all the house lights are on. This could be big trouble. But I’m brave and stroll right through the front door to see Gloria sitting at the computer drinking coffee. She turns to me, blurry eyed from just waking up, and says sincerely, “Must have been good. You catch any big ones?” I love that girl.
Anyway, enough babble. Here’s the fishing. Hex are done. Now that being said, take a couple with you. After all, hatches don’t turn off like a light switch. They sort spit and sputter to a halt. So don’t expect Hex, but if you’re out there until 10:15 anyway, might as well stay until 10:30 to see what’s happening. Watch for iso’s still and fish that fly blind as an attractor during the day—it gets ‘em. Take your small olives with you they’re pretty much system wide. Tricos have started a bit on the North Branch and should get rolling with the warmer July weather. I’ve also seen a few cahills in the evenings so watch for those. Flying ants have been crawling around, so it’s terrestrial time. Biker Dave caught a whopper (22 incher) on a big rubber-legged attractor fished against the wood a few days ago. So that’s working. Mousing has been productive and will just get better.
This is such a fun time of year to fish. An angler can literally fish for 24 hours a day. The big fish guy can creep around in the darkness and the technical dry fly fisherman gets to exercise his skills casting to the consistently, predictable trico hatch. The rest of us get to just pull a favorite pattern from the box and pick the river apart. And, the South is dropping to fishable levels. I couldn’t be more excited. That river is going to fish like crazy. I’m excited and hope to see you all soon for music, fireworks, and deep discounts on Patagonia gear.
Drive safe and thanks,
Andy
