The Grand Finale

Today was the day I thought would happen yesterday.  What do you get when you combine no wind, complete cloud cover, no rain, and a blanket hatch of BWO's starting at 10AM?  Heaven.  Nutty good.  Perfection.  Too easy.  As good as it gets.  "Fantasy fishing" as we say back home.  The kind of day I dream about all winter, and all season, and tell stories about "the best dry fly river in America."  Honestly, I wouldn't want to cast to so many heads like this all the time.  But, I hadn't had one of these MO days since last year around this time, and even then, it wasn't this perfect. Mid-40's didn't even feel cold without the wind.  The glare was tolerable.  The fish did become size-selective due to so many bugs, but it kept things a tiny bit challenging and maintained the required eye strain.  Fun meter pegged!

I still can't figure out what it is about that crazy Sri Lanka Emerger, but I had to play that card today, and it did it again.  Made 'em stupid.  I had been withholding it all week, kinda like the San Juan Worm of BWO fishing, but hey, I was right in the middle of the dream.  I did catch and hook fish on a ton of other flies, like every one I tried, but when one that I wanted wouldn't eat, the Sri Lanka usually worked.  The other good ones were on curved hooks, with the tail end in the water a little. 

Flows have gradually dropped from 4650 last weekend to 3900 this morning, and the weeds were trying to thin a little.  Then today, they jacked it back up a few hundred and the weeds came floating down big time.  I needed a lot of MO this trip.  I missed the summer, so a year was a lot of time to wait.  I'm not quite "MO'd out" yet, and a week usually does it, so there might still be an October return.  I won't top today, though I could match it with perfect conditions.

Have I missed the mahoganies on the Fork?  Still should be some good Livingston days left.  What about Silver?  Will the Beav. drop?  Flat Cr.?  The Portneuf, Lost, Boise, "O", So. Fork, and the no-tellums?  I'll never touch 'em all.  How long before the constant  winds of fall kick in?

For now, I have to go home for a couple days to see the doctor and dentist.  Then I have 3 weeks to burn before Campeche! I might need to tie some tarpon flies too.  I can't think of a better way to get a little sleep and hit the road south in the morning.  I'll be buzzin' from today all the way home. 

CLICK For Pods of Risers Video (2 min.)

Perfect on arrival, with a pod of heads working.

Didn't take long

Long hike from the truck!

I cleaned up on two pods

Great on the dark background

Glass calm all day!

Pod below the beaver hut.

Not sure where I got this, but they liked it.

In full swing

Lots of spent ones all day

FOD  It just has something . . . 

I had eats on ALL of these!  Even a caddis.

See that head/mouth?

Bring your hackle stackers Bob!  They loved it.

Last fish.