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My usual stretch of river is green with pollen. Floating maple seeds, birch catkins, leaves, and kayaks. I went upstream and put in above the dam. I paddled a half hour up river to Frying Pan Pond. Then back into the river a couple hundred yards more. I saw one fish rise. I floated down casting here and there. No fish. I got to the pond and I figure I might as well try it. The pond is 100 yards across and mostly pond lilies and rushes. I found a nice 5 or 6 foot deep part and tossed a black and red leach out. 1st cast- fish. 2nd cast- fish. 4th cast- fish. The fish stripped the bunny fur right off the hook. I put on a black wooly bugger with the little red bead. 1st cast- fish. Next cast... fish and so on. I got 10 fish in maybe 20 casts and then, nothing. I casted the river half way back to the landing and didn't get another bite. It was as though every fish in the river was in that little stretch. My buddy said it was because there wasn't a hatch going on. Otherwise, they would have been up the river. The pond supposedly has a big Hex hatch in June. Mayflys as big as sparrows... right at dusk. I'll be looking forward to that.

Envious. We've had two days of horrid wind, snow, rain, and more wind. All of our streams are blown out and over the banks. The wife did not even want to go shopping.

Same here in John Day but hail instead of snow. Snow at about 4,000' though.

It's not quite kosher to fish with only the Swap flies that you yourself tied.

You always seem to find a way to toss in rules after the fact...

Elk Hair Caddis (RickR)



Dragonfly Larva (macrabbit)


Egg Sucking Wooly Bugger (rob p)

I'd cast and hook up, the boys would reel. James was getting the hang of dapping with the EHC though.

I've got to think that the stout sunfish caught on the Dragon Fly larva is a Redear/Green Sunfish hybrid. The body is flattened like a Redear, it obviously has a "red" ear, but the mouth is much closer to that of a Green Sunfish.

Scott

Good shots, good family fun.
Yay, dragonfly!

I suspect you're keepin' score!

Hey, I take what I can get.

I don't know much history on that pattern. It's been around for 30-odd years but without much exposure, as far as I know. Scott's might actually be the first fish ever taken on it.

Making memories there. Keep it up,

I went back to Frying Pan pond today. I paddled up river and nothing was rising. At the pond, trout were rolling. I threw everything I had at them with nothing biting. I noticed that there were lots and lots of dragonflies. I saw that the light blue ones were mating. The males had the paler colored females in tow and they were dipping and sitting on the pond weeds. I tied on Miss T's blue dragonfly and watched a fish rise over and over at the edge of a weed bed. I dropped that dragonfly right on his head and in a half second, he slurped it in and took off. I got the trout in and he was all of 10" long. All the splashing and fuss, and I got teeny fish. I got two yellow perch too. It all ended as a one fish is better than no fish day. I'll be at it again soon.

That put a HUGE smile on my face!!!

I should think so!

I should also think that more of you have gone fishing in the last couple of weeks...

Sadly, I have yet to wet a line...

Well, you're excused; for there's so little water, and so few fish in what water there is, in your area.

No pix, but I caught a longear sunfish on the bunny leech after having given up on seriously fishing for smallmouth last Wed in TN. I had broken out the switch rod just to get some practice in, and was starting a back cast when it hit. Poor little guy skipped across the water for a good 10' or so.

It was just too dang hot to be fun, so I headed back to the south fork of the same river - a tailwater, and fished for trout the next evening. I got positively chilled, rather amazing as the daytime temp was in the 90's. Managed to get 4 trout to hand on midge larva and sulpher spinners, as well as having probably triple that amount in missed takes or LDRs. I love fishing that Echo 2 wt.

Scott

That's great-- you caught a flying fish on one of rob p's creations.

I've got fish on the mosquito larva and the blue damsel fly so far.

Tried Troutfly's damselfly larvae, and tried Skunkie's veiled egg, both to no avail...

If at first you don't succeed...
...don't blame the Swap flies!

I did not! I went to the old standby, deer hair caddis and did just fine. Just wanted to try something new, but still wanted to catch some fish!

Deer Hair Caddis, not the Madam Xs you've been tying?

I went back out for the Hex hatch tonight. Nada. There were a few trout taking something just under the surface, but I couldn't get them. I got one fish! I got tired of trying stuff and threw a big Hex even though there were none on the water. A #10 Wulf overly dressed and gaudy. My second cast to a rising fish and he took it. I got nothing the rest of the night. I've really got to figure these fish out. I'll tell you, I can catch bats easier than fish. That's embarrassing.

Time for "garden hackle"?

Many days on the River, I see power bait nuggets floating by. Between the bait fishermen and the ospreys, the trout get scooped up quick. The Asians use a mysterious dough bait they call "monkey bait" and do a number on them. Even the spin fishermen get a lot of them. I feel I need to be frustrated as often as possible. I don't keep them so it's just for my own punishment that I stick to fly gear.

My Madam Xs didn't even warrant a second glance from anything in the water. Most of what I threw at them didn't. But they liked my caddi, even though AkGrayling says the hackle was too long. The fish didn't judge it with a micrometer like he did!

I feel your pain...

You'all are supposed to whip the water with a line, not your backs with a scourge.

Believe me, someone could have mistaken the water for a cappuccino!

BTW, they probably refused your Madam Xs because the front legs were too short!
(If you think about it, the forward-facing legs are the ones given the most action by a twitch. You might reconsider your practice.)

Professional handicap.

Anything new, folks?

No pix, but a small South Platte Rainbow last week on the now very, very sad EHC that I'll now retire.

"A sadder but wiser girl for me."