I did a quick trip to the Nissitissit while visiting the folks on Saturday (our free river guide here). There are a couple spots close to my parents’ house, and so, naturally, I couldn’t resist.

I have sort of a love-hate relationship with the Nissi. On one hand, it is fairly easy to access and heavily stocked in the spring and fall. I’ve had some great outings there, and it helped boost my confidence when I started fly fishing a few years ago.

However, it tends to get pounded for that reason and warms grossly in the summer. I’ve gotten skunked several times, sometimes within a week or so of a good outing. Still, with very limited time, I decided to send it anyways.

After stopping at Evening Sun Fly Shop and shooting the breeze with the owner, Charlie, I set out. I got a bit of a late start to the day and the sun was out. So, I wasn’t expecting much.

To my surprise, there was a pod of fish actively rising at a tail out. Normally, I would’ve thrown dries at them, but since my five-weight is out for repairs, I had to pass them over.

Instead, I tightlined at the faster water. Since the water was quite low, stealth tactics and small flies were necessary. Still, I got quite a few takes, although mostly creek chubs. I was admittedly off my game and lost a few fish.

With limited time, I turned around and walked back downstream. On my way back, I glimpsed the same pod of fish still rising and decided to re-rig for a Euro Dry-Dropper.

I clipped off my dropper and replaced it with a buoyant black caddis imitation and started working them. It took a while to figure out the cast, but eventually I got a take and landed a nice bow. Unfortunately, the commotion put down the other fish, and the rises stopped altogether.

All said and done, I went two-for-four. Not great, but I’ll take that any day!