Bugs?

Finally . . . seems like it now, maybe due to changing/cooling weather, or time of year, or just because for no reason.  Yesterday evening had lots of tiny baetis in all forms just below town. This morning in the same place started out cold, and so was the river until about 11-11:30, then baetis galore.  Best hatch I've seen.  Some Mahoganies mixed in too.  The fish were not all that on the bugs though.  Les called it "funky."  Yep, the light, the foam, the currents, the fish, it just never felt quite "right."  I should have caught a bunch though.  Didn't happen.  Poor execution, a little frustration I let get to me, and one layer underdressed that contributed to both.  Bugs were mostly the little bwo's, the bug formerly known as Pseudo, but a few of the bigger ones mixed in.  Just not a lot of bigger targets, and they'd be up, and then just quit.  Tomorrow's another day as they say.  Sleep in a little, make breakfast, no rush.

9:45 and I'm the only one here?  A few more cars/vans did show up for afternoon.  

Threatened all afternoon, but no rain.

BWO's with a dash of mahogany

I caught one

Cloudy all afternoon

Closer to sunset

I can live with 400-ish

Some healthy ones around

Fall on the Fork?

It kinda seemed more like it today.  Yes, still sunny and warm until tomorrow, but the fish seemed more alive than two weeks ago.  Maybe because of the lower water, but I saw more moving around.  Some just spooked easily, while others seemed to just be moving up and down the pool 'cause they wanted to.  Some seemed to be eating a little more too, despite pretty light hatches of next to nothing.  A few tricos, a few olives, a mahogany here and there.  Had a pretty good morning into early afternoon.  The last hour and a half had some good chances too, just below the LC parking lot.  I managed to miss a couple, get weeded by one, and just plain scared the shit out of a couple more nice ones.  There were a few good ones up and doin' it though.

First fish of the morning

Getting some color now

All I needed

Enough evening fish right here

Last one of the afternoon

She lit up tonight

Oops, wrong color.  Slough fish from yesterday.

Ate the #14 hare/partridge soft hackle.

Fish Story

Today's mission was to fish the lower slough.  On the walk down the trail, I decided I'd follow it all the way to its junction with the main river.  I had been within a mile of it yesterday working upstream.  There was nothing going on fish or bugs, until I got to the junction.  A few bwo's made an appearance but I only saw one rise, one time.  Coming back up the main river around noon time, I was able to get an eat from that fish and get it in the net.  At least the two mile walk wasn't just to see both waterways at low flows, something I hadn't done since they dredged the slough.

As I neared a crossing of the slough, well on my way back to the truck, a slash right on the bank in some shade caught my attention.  Sure enough, a nice fish was eating something every few minutes, no more than an inch or two from the bank.  As I got ready to cast, I spotted yet another nice fish holding out from shore a couple feet and downstream about the same distance from the bank feeder.  This one wasn't feeding, but was sitting in a foot of clearwater plain as day.  Figuring I only had one shot, I cast to the bank feeder.  On the first cast, the lower fish spooked back downstream past me and into the deep hole below the flat.  The bank feeder didn't budge to my first 5 or 6 casts.  I mad a fly change to an Almost Dun, since I was almost done at that point anyway.  First drift he ate it and was a thing of beauty.  The take of the day, and fish of the day.  

But, I still had to cross the little creek, and as I walked back up to the shallows to do so, there was a fish back on the flat.  Was it the same fish I had just released?  The one I had spooked 10 minutes earlier?  Could be either.  All of a sudden, as I stood there just looking at it, it turned and went after something on the surface with some gusto.  Hmmm.  So I put the dun over him, and not even a look.  Then a Bob's ant.  Still no look.  Then a big beetle.  Got a turn, but no take.  Now what?  There have been hoppers all over the grass along all the rivers this month, including this one today.  What the hell.  First drift, he came up, looked, and ate it softly.  Another great fish.  Both above average for the small creek.  Like the fish we used to catch here.  So just by pure luck, I went to cross the right little riffle at the right moment, and payed just enough attention to see these two wonderful fish.  Both casts were upstream too!

The hatch remained very sparse, and I saw no other risers for the rest of the way back to the truck.  (And these two fish made me look a little more serious on the way back)  I'll probably go back in the morning.

Confluence of a great river and what used to be a great creek.

River water

Long walk got me closer to where I fished up from the ranch yesterday.

Prime slough

The little flat

River fish

Almost Dun 

Bank Feeder

The only hopper I've tied on this season

The only fish I'll likely catch on a hopper this season

Goin' up

Area Water

After a two-day pit stop back home, I'm back on the road again.  It still feels like summer with the warm temperatures, but everything else points to summer's end.  The air has cleared of the smoke.  Traffic is noticeably lighter on the interstate and side roads than the summer.  The hills are now brown, but there's still some patches of green hanging on, and only a slight yellowing of leaves.  The camp spots are empty, and Norman has the run of the parks. The fishing though still feels very much like that of in-between season.  Summer is past, and fall isn't quite here.  They ain't rising like on Silver Creek.

The river above Clark Canyon is carrying a decent flow, and I fished a mile or so of it.  I had two or three good eats on a streamer, but never connected.  I saw some bwo's, but no fish rising.  Just a tiny trickle of 25cfs is coming out of the lake, and the river is closed for quite a ways downstream to Pipe Organ.  Word has it that it won't reopen until next May.  In town though, it picks up water from the slough and a few other smaller creeks and springs, and the flow is good!  Easy wading, but sparse bugs.  I fished upstream through a private ranch this morning and picked up a few decent fish.  I think most of them are just holding in the deeper water though.  The slough still has decent water flowing as well, but I never saw a fish rise above the parking area.

So there's the river above the lake, the slough, and the river between the slough and town.  I also saw a couple of fish rising in the deeper, slow water at the park just above Barrett's Diversion.  Might need to try those too.

Above Clark Canyon

Plenty of water

Town PMD flat.  Dry.

Above the flat

Some risers here

Been caught a few times.

Gin Clear

A breath of fresh air, clear water, and mostly clear skies for the last 6 days.  A place I can once again appreciate a 15-16 inch trout, even though I'm not touching very many that size and up.  I see 'em.  I cast to 'em.  They give me chances.  I worked two fish feeding off and on all morning on a bank two days ago.  Never got an eat.  A good stalk and presentation bring a chance.  Ya gotta execute physically, and continue the progression of steps to get one to hand.  Its a bit hellish to know exactly what I need to do, remember how I used to do it, yet struggle to get it done.  A sloppy cast here, a miss there, a tired landing job, weeded . . . 

There is far less weed growth than a year ago though.  The runs are mostly clear on the surface, and hardly a blade of grass flows by in the clean water.  Subsurface vegetation is about normal.  BWO's are like clockwork starting around 9am and continuing throughout the day.  Only a stray Mahogany.  The fish are on the olives though.  Temperatures are still summer like, with highs around 80 after chilly starts in the high 40's.  Only a couple of late afternoon showers. 

Its time for a quick pit-stop back home for a couple days, then back on the road again for all the other places I need to visit before the season changes.  I still don't see a problem with sunny and 70 BWO hatches though!  Beats the hell out of wet dry-flies and frozen fingers.  

Found a pretty nice campsite for the week

Sunny morning BWO's at 9 am daily

A few clouds some mornings

More Normal

Nice ones on the right bank and around the corner.

Good early channel.

Right down main street.

Plenty of Love

Up Town

The favorite, even here.  Had to be done.

Got Lost one day.😉

This trail needs further exploration.

One small step for man, one giant leap for any canine. What's the big deal about these moon craters anyway?

Look who's blocking my fishin' hole!  Walked into the confluence yesterday morning, and walked right into this!

But wait!  Wade in and you get two!

They were feelin' frisky.  Good thing I didn't wear my momma moose costume.