I’ve never had good luck with the Hendrickson hatch.

I’m either too early or too late. Anglers often tell me: “You should have been here yesterday.” When I go out on a calm day, the wind unfortunately often kicks in unexpectedly. Or, a clear day becomes a rainy day. Ephemerella subvaria is often ephemeral, at least for me.

As a result, I no longer tie Hendrickson flies, as I rarely catch a hatch.

A few days ago, I hit the Farmington with low expectations. I have not fished since September and was just glad to get out and see some moving water and be outside.

I arrived at one of the glamour runs to find two older anglers working the best stretch and just looked at the water. A lot has happened since I first started fly fishing regularly ~15 years ago. The water and the shoreline looked the same, but I am now older and feel the effects of a full day of wading. So, I don’t really do that any more.

Miraculously, I saw some fish starting to rise. There were a few bugs popping, from large bugs to little ones, but nothing consistent. Amazingly, a size 16 Comparadun I put on received hits right away. It wasn’t a fancy pattern and had no bells and whistles. In all honesty, it was a pretty plain fly. I find the Farmy fish often want something subdued.

The fish were all smallish, but it felt good to feel the pulses of life on the 5-wt., and I smiled every time one slid into my net. I did hear some big gulps but couldn’t get those browns to play.

After about 45 minutes of near-constant action, everything died down. I worked the water and hit another run at which I found a rainbro willing to take a small jig streamer. But that was it. I like all kinds of fly fishing, but nothing beats throwing dries at shallow water and at which you can see the fish react. It’s The Dry Way.

I’m excited to be fishing again and hope you are, too. Tight lines!