Hello Old Friend!

Other than that early summer flood visit, I haven't seen the river in a year.  All roads lead here, the trout are as long as your arm (a lot of them anyway), and I can always find a few fish rising even on the toughest of days.  After helping another old friend who is moving nearby, I arrive at the magic 1:45 pm, when the fall blue-wings usually start popping good.  Instead, I find the wind howling downstream and hardly a bug to be seen.  So, I grab the five weight (a bazooka for me), tie on a few feet of 2x to the old tapered butt section, and attach the magic leech.  No spring creek sissy stuff here.  No sir, not in this wind.  Second cast in, I'm onto a 20 incher and into the backing.  There's no place like home.

Fast forward to three more fish later.  The wind is rippin' and I'm wading back across the channel to the truck when I see a rise on a narrow strip of slick water protected  from the current gusts below the big island.  A big beaver lodge used to be there.  What the hell, I'm here.

I turn around and make the trip back to the tip of the island and see the fish again.  Not quite sure what to do with my 2x tippet, I reach in the terrestrial box for a size 14 Triple Double and tie it onto the 2x with a loop knot.  A few cast later, I'm hooked up.  The another fish rises and eats it again.  One more eats in the gale, with no fishermen in sight.  Now I'm probably done, several fish ahead of where I should be in these conditions (napping in the trailer!).

As I get nearly all the way across the channel to the trail up to the truck, I look downstream along the bank where the gusts aren't hitting, and there's a couple of fish actually doing it!  They're coming up every 10 seconds or so.  I serve the big Triple Double, and one takes it.  By the time I land that one, there's a couple more up.  With no more takers, I get back to reality and tie on a couple feet of 4x onto the 2x.  I serve a size 16 soft hackle down to a couple that works.  Then I serve a number 16 Mole to a couple more that appear, and that works.  Did someone say these late season fish are picky?  Not this afternoon.  Its quite the interesting four hours.  I still love this old friend.  

The next day dawns cloudy with very light drizzle.  Just enough to get me damp once in a while, but not quite rain gear worthy.  Its cool all day, and the bigger bwo's gradually increase though the morning and into the afternoon.  It never really stops, as there is always something to cast to all day.  Most of the afternoon let me choose my target.  Moles, Almost Duns, and soft hackles rule the day.

Bwo's like this for much of the afternoon.

Nice fish on this bank all afternoon.

Biots get chewed up pretty quick.