I guided Don yesterday for four hours mid-though-late afternoon. His goal was to work on wet fly fishing, and we had some great stretches of water to ourselves in and out of the Permanent TMA. Water was 225cfs, an excellent wet fly height, with a hint of stain, no doubt from storms upstream. Spot A produced two fish, a swing and a miss, and some finks that wouldn’t take. Spot B was a disappointing blank. Spot C held some players, and we had fun fooling them with the Hackled March Brown. While it was a very fishy feeling day, the hatches were terrible. I’m being generous by giving them a 1 on the 1-10 scale. Still, Don done good under some truly tough conditions. He’s going to be a dangerous wet fly machine.
Skunk’s off with this lovely rainbow. Check out that pink band! This fish was in great condition.
Gotcha. I love these smaller wild Farmy browns. See you in a couple years, OK?
currentseams.com 
Hey Steve , I was on the Farmington same time & in the TMA area. At around 8 PM until dark there was a massive hatch of Attenuata (BWO as I understand it) but very few rises….what’s the story with that one ? There were hundreds of them all around and I couldnt get a fish to rise and they didnt even go after the naturals! Monday mornign was better with #28 emergers for a few hours anyway.
The story is they were eating something else, or had gorged on something else and weren’t interested in eating, or were feeding below the surface. I’ve experienced many times a dual hatch where the trout are feeding on X even though there are many more of Y. All points to ponder while you’re on the river.
That would be the reality Steve ! I think I was so excited to be in the “right place at the right time” I was going to wish those fish into rising ! In the last few minutes of light I did come to my senses and try to make the switch to soft hackles but I couldn’t find my box (old & forgetful). Speaking of soft hackles and spiders , I’m studying your patterns & reading up and need some advice , do you have something that works in place of Pearsall silk and a vendor ?
Thanks
Paul
Paul, sorry for the delayed response. You can look for Morus silk. I know eflytyer.com had some at the FFS this winter, but I cannot speak to their current inventory. FWIW the trout don’t care if it’s silk or nylon thread, but I get that you want silk. Me too! 🙂
No problem Steve, Thanks for the pointer. Yup, I’m sure your right and the nylon will do the trick but the silk just makes those soft hackles seem sexier 🙂
I know! 🙂
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