First and Last

First evening without rain, snow, hail, lightning, or wind since I began this trip two weeks ago.  Last evening on the MO until September . . . or when I'm done with the creeks next week . . .

Evening light and the last fish

Never get tired of this sunset view, and now there's caddis flying, pmd's floating, and fish rising near the bank.  

Kinda not quite . . .

MO'd out.  Getting there.  Not quite.  Never quite.  But enough for now.  Today was the first sunny hot day.  Fishing and hatches not quite as good as the past couple cloudy days, but it was nice to get some dreaded UV!

Just when I thought I knew something, or at least had a clue, I discovered the stage of bug the fish really want.  Not an adult, not a cripple, not a spinner, not the floating nymph, no, not even an emerger.  How about "jacked-up?"  Or "knocked down?"  Yep, cut off a wing, bend the hook sideways, and clip the hackle so the mutilated fly rides on its side with the hook curled sideways.  BAM!  They were turning to get it!  Had I only have known, or actually taken the knowledge I already had and  tried it.  Kelly wrote about it and made a tying video a while back.  I'd seen it more than once.  Its called a Galloup's Cripple, but it ain't nothin' like a Harrop or Quigley style.  Need to try more new shit!  Caught all my fish on a couple today. On to the Creeks.  Wonder what the Armstrong trout will say?

Eating the MO caddis, for a cadis or a pmd?

Definitely some bugs

Kelly's Cripple

Lt Cahill bent, neutered, and clipped!

Happening Now

An eventful day worth a post.  Fish were up.  PMD's were up.  Water stayed down. Went to the hot hatch run.  Fish up all day.  They were persnickety though.  Not much love on duns.  Didn't do much with emergers.  It was spinners they were eating, but I couldn't see the good one in that damn white glare.  Had to finally resort to more visible flies that weren't quite as effective, but still worked.  Some year there will be a blue sunny day, but probably not in 2019.  The bugs liked the clouds though, and so did the fish.  Need to tie some black hackled spinners, at least dark dun or brown.  The bright white posted ones worked ok.

Not sure how much longer I can do this.  The back pain starts about 3 hours in.  By hour 4 and 5, its hard to enjoy.  Agonizing.  I had to stop at 3 today, with risers podded up and eating big time.  I could hardly make a cast.  Tomorrow I'm trying the back brace, the Advil/Tylenol cocktail, and my nighttime drugs in the morning.  We'll see.  If they find me rolling down river, swirling in the eddy at Lone Tree, somebody will know why.  I've got to do something. On the Fork, I first thought it was because I hadn't fly fished all winter or spring.  But now I should be warmed up and have my game.  I don't.  I have a week on the creeks coming up.  At least that's shorter casts and with a 3 wt, but it's more intense than this is.

It was a good morning though, and fishing was just getting better and better as the day went on.

Heads up on both sides and above and below the magic island.  Easily waded to at 5400!

Now this is more like it!

Brought out an oldie, "allstage" spinner.

Left a whole pod here mid-afternoon.

Forecast called for severe thunderstorms with lightning and hail.

No Shit Sherlock!  Two inches of Hail in 20 minutes.  

Mable size, but no damage

Aftermath.  No evening bite . . . again.

It's the water stupid!

That's right.  Too much water is NOT good for fishing the MO.  But when they turn it down, it happens.  It's happening.  Time for an update.  The arrival day was decent.  Then they turned the water up, and it wasn't so decent.  Working daily for a few fish.  Hard to wade.  Not good enough to float (Not that motivated!)  Raining and windy a lot.

Here's kind of a catch-22 for the MO.  When its good and flows are right (5500 and below), you don't need to float.  Plenty of heads up at the usual access spots.  When it's not so good, then why bother floating?  And its been raining a lot, and windy about regular to frequent.  Floating helps get away from some of the other crowded wade accesses.  They haven't been that crowded.

So I've fished many of the normal access runs.  High Bridge, Lone Tree, Barb Wire, PHD Island today (ankle deep!), and down river at Mountain Palace.  Wanted to float Stickney to Dearborn, but haven't yet.  Big thunderstorms forecast for tomorrow afternoon, and the persistent clouds and rain return. Saw a few caddis yesterday, last evening, and today.  PMD's daily, but fish not on them in the higher rising flows.  More fish up today than any with the exception of the 21st.  (see flow chart!)  So 3 days of sucky, but I've waited it out.  Spring creeks next week! 

About sums it up, more midges when I arrived than PMD's

Nice evening after rain, and no bugs or risers.

First morning, a few bank feeders

And some brown ones

Always love these bank fish

Getting more numerous

Downstream had some fish

Beavers still at work

Mythical evening bite bug.  Only one evening without wind or rain so far.

This morning

Best is last.  They love it, but its hard to see.