Dry Flies, Rivers, Trout & Tarpon.: Flavs (and still 620 cfs!)

Number 14 mayflies. Cripples, spinners, and even adults on the cloudy evenings. I can't leave that. I did for a while today to check the Madison. Salmonflies were gone, at least where I looked. Horseflies were atrocious. Didn't take long to get back home. I'm lovin' the low flow on the Fork with knee-high wading anywhere. Weeds are coming, but not bad yet.

But back to yesterday morning. Flav spinners have been out in the mornings, but there's more and bigger rising fish down the ranch a mile or so in the slower water. Foot pain tolerated, I found home just past first corner/third fence. It was a lightly cloudy morning. I never have had a better morning without so much as touching a fish. But some pigs sure ate my bugs. I didn't cast to anything under 20". Well, without catching any to tape anyway. Cripples and spinners, and one ate a beetle. These fish are like this sometimes. Or should I say, this fisherman is like this sometimes. The fish comes up and gulps the fucking fly right into that giant mouth, I lift, and there isn't a damn thing there. I did that to several big fish this morning. It happens here more than anyplace else. Its the leader, the cast, the drift, and the fact that these fish see some of the best dry fly fishermen in the country. Old guys. Or somethin' All I know is there's a lot of days I get a lot of great eats and the bastards don't get hooked. More than the MO, or Silver Creek, the Green, or the Livingston creeks, or anywhere. I pretty much always had something to cast to from 8 to noon though, and they all had my undivided attention.

Evening bite on the 6th was quite good while it stayed cloudy right after a little storm moved past. I farmed two more good ones at the log jam. Last night was sunny and nothing much going on. Tonight was the night! Clouds from about 5pm through sunset, with a couple breaks. Lots of flavs on the water, and some bigger fish eating 'em. Hell, I even netted 3 fish! Unbuttoned a couple more including the "fish of the pool." The cripple was really good, and a couple ate a green drake spinner I cut the wings shorter on. The big one ate a down-wing CDC dun. (the tie everyone calls an emerger, but that rides with the body on the water and the dry wing above the water.

Spinners on the water

Larry on the bend

Thread-tail rusty got some eats!

OK, I actually remember tying these ugly things on the steering wheel of my Toyota in 1984 or 85, parked in the grass/dirt lot at the top of the Ranch. No asphalt. No restroom. I mean, a heavy-ass moose mane tail, over-dubbed body, divided moose main wing, and too much traditional hackle. On a Mustad 94840! There were (are) 3 in the drake box, and I needed a spinner. Clippers to the rescue. They ate it a few times, big fish!