Well, today involved a quick half-day outing. The air at daybreak lacked the usual humidity, there was a breeze and everything felt a lot cooler.
Spot A quickly produced two wild brookies. They’re always a joy to see. Beautiful colors, and I always admire these fish for surviving through all sorts of conditions. Catching them didn’t take much skill, as the water was quick and a size 20 X-Caddis did all the work.
I had high expectations for Spot B, which has generated high volumes for me in the past. Fish started rising steadily 30 min. after I got there. My eyes got big, and my tongue was sticking out of my mouth.
Zero landed.
And, I mean, barely any looks. Two takes, and I unfortunately pulled the hook too fast both times. I cycled through a bunch of flies, switched positions a few times, changed my casts and their angles, and, departed feeling that trout can sometimes be hard to figure out.
Moved to Spot C and continued to do “dries or die.” Sun was high and bright by this time, and I could feel everything get warmer. Not much bug activity, and so, I decided to throw a large Elk Hair Caddis which did well for me on a prior trip. With all of the orange gypsy moths flying around, I figured it again was worth a shot.
The wind was really gusting at this point, and it was hard to cast at times. But, there were windows of opportunity to cast true.
Out of nowhere, a fish slowly rose and leisurely sucked down the fly. Miraculously, I waited a second and did not jerk the fly out of its mouth. A few surges later, a feisty bow came to the net. Maybe 12″ or 13″? Here is a photo of it, with the fly in the corner of its mouth. Sorry for the poor resolution.
Had a great time fishing next to John, who works at Orvis Peabody. We compared notes, and it was a fun chat.
Left the water before noon to make it back home to help out with some chores. It was a beautiful morning.
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Glad you connected on the dry fly. Like you I sometimes get a little eager on the dry fly which cost me some good browns on a recent trip to a Connecticut freestone stream. All I can figure is I get so used to fishing subsurface and striking at the slightest impulse that I get too quick with dries sometimes. Last night I waited just a bit after the hit and fared much better. To my mind there is nothing more fun in fly fishing than see a dry fly get hit by a trout.
Sam, I agree. It is an incredible sight to see a fish rise and lazily take a dry. In this case, it appeared from a deep trench and seemingly out of nowhere.
Yeah, it takes a while to slow down from nymphing, particularly, for me, tightlining whereby every pause or twitch could be a take.
Hope you’re enjoying the great outdoors….
Love this report! I have been mostly dry fly fishing over the past few weeks and there is nothing better. It is a much slower process than nymphing and in my opinion, produces fewer fish, but it is by far the most satisfying. I can nymph fish to my heart’s content for the other 3 seasons but summer is for topwater action