It’s crazy, but I did a lot of driving on Marathon Monday to fish a half-day at one stretch of the Farmington.

It is a secluded area where I previously went 0-for-4, as a very strong current snapped my 6.5x fluorocarbon tippet each time a fish went down river. And, I was standing amidst some huge boulders in fast water, and so, couldn’t maneuver easily. So, I came back with some 5x.

The day didn’t start off well, as I slipped in the fast current and fell in. Cold water trickled down my waders. It’s not a feeling I ever forget.

Thankfully, the holdover rainbows were hungry. One is above. Quite a few jumped and then dove for rocks. The trout were feasting on Caddis larvae. But, they weren’t taking that fly from me. Instead, they liked a #16 Hendrickson-like emerger. I put on a very heavy tungsten-beaded fly as the anchor and attached it to 8′ or so of tippet to fish the deep trench.

Then, I fell into the water a second time. More cold trickles of water. Kept fishing. Then, I landed one brown, which I think is wild.

Landed in the end 10 trout. In addition, I lost a few when they bounced off a barbless hook. A few wrapped my tippet around subsurface structure. They were pretty wily. So, I went 10-for-15.

At lunchtime, I headed back for the long drive home, damp and happy. Hope everyone is having a good Patriots’ Day.