Prospector
Well-known member
Time Fished: 8am - Noon
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 42 degrees at 8am climbing to 62 by noon
Water Conditions: 52 degrees on my thermometer, 132 cfs which is a little more than long term average. (USGS Gauge temp was 55 degrees). Water was very clear, some green moss patches floating down periodically
Insects; None until about 930am when small green body caddis began working; Shortly thereafter Pale Evening Duns began hatching, Saw some March Browns hatching and Large Crane flies laying eggs; Midges were pretty abundant too; All of this continued until we left. This was by far the most insects I have seen on the river (from someone that comes here just once per year); I saw zero rises, and in the past even with far fewer insects I saw a lot of rises. Strange Day
With the cold temps, I started swinging a woolly bugger with a Royal Coachman wet fly dropper through water I had confidence in from years past. Just a few light taps that may not have been trout. Second pass was with a streamer and I had 3 fish show interest but only one grabbed it, but I missed him. Next pass was with a nymph and split shot to run the fly at eye level to the fish. Not even a tap. At this point we took a short break back at the truck waiting for the fish to get interested. When we returned there was still no rising to a nice amount of insects. I went back to a couple streamers and finally caught a brown on a white feather wing streamer and had another on that got off. The guy who tagged along with me went through a similar pattern of changing flies to try to trigger some strikes but there seemed to be no cracking the code. Talked to some other anglers when we were quitting and they had driven a long way and did not have a fish on.
I would not be surprised to learn that the afternoon was better than the morning. I guess they could have stocked less fish in this section this year, but I doubt it.
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 42 degrees at 8am climbing to 62 by noon
Water Conditions: 52 degrees on my thermometer, 132 cfs which is a little more than long term average. (USGS Gauge temp was 55 degrees). Water was very clear, some green moss patches floating down periodically
Insects; None until about 930am when small green body caddis began working; Shortly thereafter Pale Evening Duns began hatching, Saw some March Browns hatching and Large Crane flies laying eggs; Midges were pretty abundant too; All of this continued until we left. This was by far the most insects I have seen on the river (from someone that comes here just once per year); I saw zero rises, and in the past even with far fewer insects I saw a lot of rises. Strange Day
With the cold temps, I started swinging a woolly bugger with a Royal Coachman wet fly dropper through water I had confidence in from years past. Just a few light taps that may not have been trout. Second pass was with a streamer and I had 3 fish show interest but only one grabbed it, but I missed him. Next pass was with a nymph and split shot to run the fly at eye level to the fish. Not even a tap. At this point we took a short break back at the truck waiting for the fish to get interested. When we returned there was still no rising to a nice amount of insects. I went back to a couple streamers and finally caught a brown on a white feather wing streamer and had another on that got off. The guy who tagged along with me went through a similar pattern of changing flies to try to trigger some strikes but there seemed to be no cracking the code. Talked to some other anglers when we were quitting and they had driven a long way and did not have a fish on.
I would not be surprised to learn that the afternoon was better than the morning. I guess they could have stocked less fish in this section this year, but I doubt it.
