the 30th:

Fished for a few hours targeting the high air temp. Doing double duty I hit a local stretch that holds a particular significance for me, I approached this water for the first time shortly after I began fly fishing for trout in June of 2008. The previous August most of the area was affected by severe flooding and this stretch was forever changed, I wish I could have seen it before the floods but as it happens I viewed this stretch for the first time after it had been ripped up pretty bad.

Although there are plenty of trout hanging around these parts I worry about their ability to migrate up and downstream, this place is littered with deep holes and long wide slow sections that are separated by long very shallow sections that are often no more than a few inches deep. Steep cut banks that show the power of flowing water stretch for much of this part of the stream.

I spent most of my time dealing with ice shelves, catching a few flies on the lip as I raised my rod. I found that there was much more veg in the stream than I was expecting to find this time of year. I rigged to go deep with a #14 Brassie and trailing #20 Midge Larva and found myself catching all kinds of greenery but no trout. I didn’t stick around long and moved to a few other spots with similar results, I did manage a consolation prize on a dead drifted #8 Bead Head Woolly Bugger but at the cost of several flies, oh well. I headed home shortly after.

the 31st:

Caught up with one Heath Sershen, a local trout addict and friend of mine. This day has been seen before and will be seen again, maybe even this year. The two of us drive for a while, get out of the car, shiver for a while, rig our rods and begin the game of pick your fish. From above we perch spying the trout, watching them feed on the midges emerging. Today we watched several larger trout surfacing, Heath picked off the first decent sized fish with a #20 Miracle Nymph. I worked a #20 Black Midge Emerger and after a while I managed a couple of fatty 14in Rainbows. The fun and challenge here is that we chose our target, we could have caught any number of smaller trout that were feeding downstream of the larger few but the challenge presented was of too great a temptation, we both agreed that landing only a few of the larger fish was well worth the effort.

All in all it was a good weekend and the trout itch has been fully scratched allowing me to continue the week free of urges to stand out in the freezing cold. Look for more of the same in the coming weeks, try to find yourself on stream during the warmest part of the day, rig to deep nymph in most situations and watch for that golden opportunity to toss a #20 Midge to rising trout lips.

Slide Show

The Pet-Fly Smackdown went down this last weekend, this “tournament” that is more of an outing, is just a reason to get together with like minded people and fish your ass off. We met at the chosen cafe to start the morning off right with coffee, eggs and the rest. Introductions and a bit of business were processed and after a bright orange fly box (that you could find buried under six feet of dirt) was filled with the flies for the day we ate and the split to find fishy water. Read the rest of this entry »

Working towards my goal of evening fishing I arrived stream-side with Sershen in the mid-afternoon to test a few pet fly options for the day of fishing this Saturday. Fall is fast approaching, this becomes apparent when leaves floating in the stream alter the drift you are attempting to achieve. Cooler night air temps have encouraged fish activity and streams are generally low but fishing well. Mayfly nymphs are on the rocks again (for those streams that don’t see many Trico’s) after the summer lull, another indication that it is later in the year. We started the day fishing a “hot spot” that has legend of large fair but for some reason has always turned out to be a bust for me, after a quick stop we moved to the main attraction and began the hike in. Read the rest of this entry »

Heath has been a friend of mine long before I found fly fishing, and although I’m kind of flighty and do not see my friends often Heath has always been a good resource for information. I like that he has his own philosophy, something I strive to develop on my own and although some (and sometimes myself) don’t care for his opinions or thoughts he is true to his beliefs and I want to acknowledge one of my mentors. Heath was there for me when I needed information, materials for fly tying, or an ear just to bounce ideas off of. This type of person is very important for anyone trying to learn anything new, I hope I can do the same for someone someday. He has recently completed a research project encompassing the Human Dimensions of Angling in New Zeland. Find Heath and more information on his research, philosophy, photography and ideas at Shershen Bros.