Smith-Continued

[Dougfish]

Nice work.   

Twas a plum.

[Woolly Bugger]

#104

low 80s Gas $3.37

Spey day, swung flies through the great road run, many bumps, and a grab or two but nothing to hand. Slowed down the cast and felt like I was in the groove. The water was quite stained, and I thought I had a good chance to entice one or two to take the fly.

I moved on and was getting ready for lunch when Mike pulled up to take aa photo of the water tower at the old factory site. He told me that he had heard that it was going to be made into an Airbnb, "No shit!" I replied. He turned and looked at me, "That's what I said, when I heard the news." I'll believe it when I see it.




Then, as we were talking about flies and what not, we heard a loud splash in the river. When we turned to look there was an osprey in the run struggling to take off. A few moments later, flapping its wings, it rose clutching a twelve-inch brown trout in its talons. Pretty darn cool.

Mark is related to the Smithfly Guide.

I sat down to eat my lunch and Mike drove off to fish in another spot.

I swung flies down around the corner, where I caught nothing, but did get one to swipe at the fly. My cack-handed casting still needs work.

Back up at the top I switched rods and swung soft hackles and finally caught some fish.

I flubbed fish and photos despite having the new Fjorden grip which I'm still getting used to operating. 




I pulled out at seven, a bit early, but I was done.

[trout-r-us]

#104.     

[Woolly Bugger]

#105

mid 80s / gas $3.37

Spey day #2, back at the Great Road Run. The water had cleared up a bit and the sun was shining. Caught a fish on the first cast. Is that a sign of good fortune, or doom? Worked the kinks outta my cast and worked the run, twice with only a bump or two. Streameareater came down in his Hooligan. He asked if I was headed down river, puzzled I repeated his querry to which he replied, "The riverfest". "oh, no, people!" He thought I was just being covid cautious, but I would rather not deal with a crowd of any size period.

I moved on down to the river run and swung my way down through that area, there were two or three anglers above me and the guy across the way was moving his lawn. He looked at me, wondering why I wasn't catching any fish, and as John Gierach said, "If people don't occasionally walk away from you shaking their heads, you're doing something wrong."

At the bottom, past the creek, I finally got into some fish and there is more to explore down that way.



It was time for a snack and a beer, so I headed on up to the boat ramp.



The Smithfly guide came down with his clients, a father and son, and reported an awfully slow day. Patrick is his name and we talked for a while as he loaded the raft on his truck. It was quick work with the help of the winch. He said they saw mostly bwos, some sulfurs, and caught a few on Griffiths gnats, while remarking that the sulfurs were definitely more abundant and predictable last year.

 I was waiting for the birds to signal that it was time to start swinging a soft hackle, but it was getting late with no sign of major activity. A truck pulled up and the driver hopped out, walked down to the water for a look as I was headed in with the one weight. "Are you fishing up or down," he asked. "I start up there," pointing with my fly rod, "and work my way down through the run below," as I swung my rod tip downstream. He left. It was slow to start but towards the end, close to 7:30, they started looking up and I caught seven or eight in the eight-to-ten-inch range.



I wonder what all the raft owners and new fly fishers will do when the damn dam is repaired, and the river returns to "normal" in 2024.

[Woolly Bugger]

#106

I debated counting this trip.

I drove up to the river and stopped along the way at the new picnic shelter to eat my lunch. I started reading Dylan Tomine's Headwaters: The Adventures, Obsession and Evolution of a Fly Fisherman



When I got to the spot I was planning to fish a thunderstorm rattled the windows so I waited for it to pass. I rigged up the spey rod and swung through the run. All the csting progress that I thought I had made was lost and I struggled trying to get the mojo back. I caught nothing.



I sat down, drank a beer and read a chapter before moving on to try several other runs. I caught nothing.



I ened up where I started and changed rods and swung a soft hackle. I caught nothing.

[Dougfish]

I'll come down and commiserate with you on Thur and Fri, chief. 

[Woolly Bugger]

#107 Gas $3.36

Checked out the lower lot, nobody floating, but there was a guy standing in that run. I moved on to the hay field. It's tall enough to be cut again, but there are still bales in the field from the first cutting. 

Just used one fly, a soft hackle, fishing was slow, saw some bwos in size 20 or smaller. No fish rising, but they took the fly on the swing.

Brief hatch that got the fish excited, but the big mayfly activity is over for the year.

Not being in any hurry, I took some photos, drank a beer or two and watched the water and the sky.











rinse and repeat.

[Dougfish]

49

First trip back down to the bitch in a week plus.
The dry fly action has really slowed, so I took the euro rod along also.
Started with it straight away.

It was uber foggy. And I had my sunglasses on.
The regular pair was in the truck. 
There was a young fellow in a Smithfly at the head of the targeted run.
WTF is he doing down here this early? And solo?
He had his back to me and I ninja'd my way downstream undetected.

Got rigged up quickly and hopped in to establish my presence.
First cast, fish on, fish off.
The 5x broke? No.
The indicator broke above the tippet ring. Must have had an issue I did not spot.
Waded back in to re-rig.
He started down into the pool and spotted me.
I'm pretty sure he wanted to anchor up and fish, but he yielded the water to me.
We exchanged nods and waves and he glided on down.

And the catching started.



How these stockbows fight so hard without pectoral fins is beyond me.







Caught a bunch and lost a nice, heavy 14-16" brown at the head of the pool.
That's twice he has escaped me. 

Moved up into the pushy water above and picked my way over and back for 100 feet or so up river.







Hiked up to the diagonal run and here comes another Smithfly.
He passed behind me.
And he watched me catch fish.



I was sitting at 20 feesh to hand and decided to hike up and see if Keith was at home.







WB was speying, so I wandered down to the drainhole pool and runs.
Nothing.
Fished my way back up.
We drank a beer and watched a handful of bugs arise.
Some fish started feeding
We both went out with soft hackles and managed....
Nothing.

He moved on down.
I sat down, finished another beer and hiked out shortly after.

[Woolly Bugger]

#108

Hiked in, cloudy, humid, think fog on the water. Heard a commotion on the water as I approached Sally's, there, just above me was the Smithfly guy, Patrick, floating with his daughter down the river. They pounded that little run as I got my spey rod rigged. I studied a couple of casting videos and hoped to correct some casting issues. The first cast is perfect, and I hook a fish, awesome I think, but I'm unable to get a good hookset and the fish is gone. Crap! Smithfly guy has moved on and I see @Dougfish in the water below the creek.

I continued casting with only a few bumps or grabs.







Doug made his way up and we had a convo about the Smith, Rafts, and Beer.



He fishes on up and I start hiking down.



Same bush, same butterfly?





I finally gave up on the spey with a small streamer and switched over to the one wt and soft hackles. Caught a nice brown, went to reach for the net, it wasn't coming free, so I gave it a good yank and it separated from the cord, the magnet half popped off and then I remembered that the phone/camera with on the shore taking a time-lapse of the clouds.

things turned on for a while and a dozen or more fish came to hand.




The sulfur hatch was so sparse that I was able to count them - I saw 12.

[creakycane]

Yep, minimal surface action on down in the AM + early PM weds and Thurs. few bugs. I came hankering to fish some hackled dry 16 and 18 sulfur/Cahill types I just tied, and did manage to scare up ( with mucho casting) a half dozen rainbows in various areas that looked unscarred and colorful.  Not one brown on the skittered dries.  Small browns down under.  Modest activity and catching all morning, but one those days that felt forced, like only the dumb fish were about.  Maybe same could be said of this fisherman   Heavy fog.  Will wait until my enthusiasm returns, which should be by tuesday!

[Dougfish]

Not a bush.
Joe Pye Weed. Yellow Swallowtail.
Near the paper box. 

[Woolly Bugger]

Not a bush.
Joe Pye Weed. Yellow Swallowtail.
Near the paper box. 

Bring me a shrubbery!

[Dougfish]

[Dougfish]

FYI, this thread is now 10 years old. 

[Phil]

FYI, this thread is now 10 years old. 

You guys been flogging that poor river and them same skinny little browns 3-4 times/week for 10 years? Jeeze