Learned: If you lose your Cocoons on Sunday night in two feet of water because you were stupid enough to try to wedge them over your cap on top of your headlamp, you can return on Tuesday morning to the scene of the bumbling and recover them. (This might have been the highlight of my day.)
Re-Learned: You can follow a nymphing session where you drop nearly every fish with one where you land nearly every fish.
Learned: When caddis are hatching and you’re dedicated to the nymphing cause, a Squirrel and Ginger makes a damn good top dropper on a two-fly drop-shot rig. (Every trout I took today while nymphing came on that top dropper. First time I used that fur-hackled wet in that position, and it won’t be the last.)
Re-Learned: If you want to fish alone, stay outside the permanent TMA.
Re-Learned: When fish start taking emergers, it’s almost never a bad idea to swing a team of wet flies.
Water was medium height, clear, and cold. Midges and a few creamy mayflies (size 12), but mostly caddis (size 14-16).
Off you go. Didn’t think that caddis emerger was going to bite back, didja?
Great stuff, Steve! Always look forward to your posts Nice magazine article as well
Thanks, Steve. I still haven’t received a copy.
thanks for sharing your lessons.