A little wind, a little river, a little fish

Actually, a lot of wind, increased river flow, and some nice trout.

We skipped opening day because it was a zoo. A 'people zoo' and we were happier to sit it out until there was more room to cast.

We fished Sunday and caught a few nice trout. It is sort of like riding a bike when you've been away from fly fishing for almost 8 months. When I had a fish on the hook I felt like I was testing the hook, testing the line, testing the reel, testing the rod, and testing my arm. How much pressure could I put on the fish? How much tension should I have on the reel? Did I dip the tip at the right time to keep the fish on? Should I reel or let it run? That's what Sunday was all about for me. It was exactly what I'd hoped for.

Monday there were even fewer people on the river and the temp was about 75, but the wind was constantly blowing at about 25 miles per hour, the river had been raised yet again from 140 to 315, and was scheduled to go up another 75 cfs. After fishing a few hours in the morning the wind had increased and the grasses and muck floating downstream was collecting on our line. They were raising the water as expected. We'd been using 5X tippet, 2 BB weights, and small nymphs. The nymphs were size 16 or 18 sow bugs and midge larva. With the wind blowing downriver I was lucky to be able to chuck my nymphs straight out from me, let alone upstream. We'd both done fairly well (according to what - I don't know) and decided we'd call it a good day of fishing.

Doesn't Rick look like a happy fisherman? Nice brown trout Rick!