One of the many cool things about fly fishing is that we are optimists. No matter how well or poorly the last outing goes, we embark on a new visit to the river with great hope and anticipation hoping to reverse prior setbacks or to continue a good run.

Could this be the day when lunker trout are taking dries? Will today be the day when I finally run into a thick Hendrickson hatch?

I flogged some usual runs at the Farmington this past weekend and saw some sporadic rises and a few bugs pop here and there. I switched patterns and lengthened my leader with 6x nylon. I switched my footing as often as required to attempt a clean drift.

I didn’t dupe any fish up top, but it nonetheless felt sensational to stand in cool, moving water and to throw the OG Helios 2 4-wt. It is one of the first fly rods I purchased and for some reason it just fits nicely in my hand and my casts are at times even pretty decent.

Once the surface activity halted and the wind picked up. I set up my Euronymphing rod and threw jig streamers, stoneflies, and other assorted nymphs.

When I put on a Frenchie 2.0 with an orange hot spot, it was game on with the rainbros. That color scheme usually does OK for me in the spring at both freestones and tailwaters. Maybe some early-season nymphs have some orange to them?

The nicest rainbro was maybe 15″ or 16″? It fought well and helped salvage the day.

I rang up fellow blogger Jamie Carr during the drive home, and we compared notes. It’s nice to process an outing with an angler who is more skilled than you. Plus Jamie and I are always down to have a good laugh or two.

Dinner was a night out with a spicy margarita to cap off the day.

Tight lines to all!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by BlogFlyFish.com (@blogflyfish)