Yes, I’m an addict.

I naturally arise early most mornings. Today, Saturday, I have some family obligations at 11 am. So, when I awoke at 3 am, I did the most rational thing that I could do.

Fish!

So, I headed to the Millers River. I targeted a stretch that is new to me and decided to nymph. The sun had just risen, the water looked inviting, and I was alone. There were quite a few birds chirping and the river was 58 °F.

In other words, it was perfect. At that water temp., I’ve found that there are plenty of bugs in the water and the trout’s metabolism would be high. So, they feed.

I fished a tailout of a run with an indicator. Nothing. So, I moved up river and started to tightline-nymph the broken water. And, there were the fish, like clockwork. They were in quiet seams amidst fast-moving water that was 1′ to 5′ deep. The winning flies were variants I tie of the following: Frenchie, WD-40, and stone fly.

Went 5-for-8 this morning over three hours, with three trout falling off barbless hooks when they went down river. Nearly all the fish were good-sized and dark rainbows, like the one up top.

One rainbow had many spots. I mean, quite a few.

A fun few hours on the water alone.