Preserved

The Preserve is still preserved, but I had to make sure before winter!  Arrived around 2 the first afternoon and went upstream for a check.  A sparse hatch started about an hour in, if you can call it that.  The fish did!  They ate every bug that came over them, like it was the last supper, or more accurately, the last mayfly hatch of the season.  I saw one mahogany amongst the big olives, or thought I did, so I tied one on.  They ate it up.  Opportunity, recall, or a size match?  All of the above.  No selectivity.  Spooky as hell, but not picky.

Next morning I went to check out the lower Preserve above Loving Creek.  Nothing happening until about 12:30 other than some leech-eaters.  Yup, they ate that thing.  The bigger fish mostly waked after it and refused it though.  I fished one waking on top, within a couple inches of the surface, just over the weeds.

The afternoon hatch had a few more bugs per square yard than yesterday, but still sparse.  The fish were appreciative of anything.  They came out from wherever the hell they hide (weeds!) and ate most of the afternoon, really steady for a couple hours.  I was even choosy for a time.  #18 Mahoganies were the flies of the day, although I don't recall seeing any.  The trout went after 'em, on 5x, fished upstream!  An upstream windy period of a couple hours probably helped with that.

They're not MO trout, Ranch rainbows, or even Armstrong kings. I can get my little hand around 'em.  But, they rise when given the chance, and there isn't any clearer water anywhere.  Low flow, at 85 cfs.  And damn that water is cold! (40-45) Hardly anyone here though.  Sunny and 50's by afternoon. Just my trademark brown shirt.😄 Visual flight rules.  Lots of fish.  Hell ya!

A tour:

First Approach

Looking up toward the cripple run

Two day winner

Still some killer moose on the prowl

Day two stand-out in the breeze

Nice ones all along this bank

The 'ole weeping tree flat

Mouth of Loving Cr. on the way out