Weather's been damned dirty here for well over a week. Rain and
monstrous high winds.... snow yesterday.

Today, though, no rain, no snow, no wind, so.....

I fished that river arising at the foot of that geological feature
pictured on the label of that most wonderful of beers, Black Butte Porter.

Couplefew rivers hereabouts, you can almost set your watch in winter by
the start of the BWO hatch. Found a decent hatch today at what some of
us have taken to calling "the spot." Began a couple of minutes after
noon and lasted an hour and a half.... mostly #20 BWOs, interspersed
with the odd #16-18 Little Yellow May.

Didn't slay 'em, but fared middling well with grey, olive-grey, and
yellow sparkle duns. Downstream stop casts, long leader and 6X. Half a
dozen fish to hand, perhaps as many missed at the rise, one unpinned
mid-contest. #20 olive-grey flies took more fish, but a #16 yellow one
with bleached wing took the largest, a 18-19" insurgent rainbow that
resisted all fumbling ham-fisted attempts at portraiture long enough to
elicit the dreaded "WARNING! BATTERY EXHAUSTED." You'll have to take my
word....

Bit chilly (high of 46º) but sunny and pleasant. Good light. Lingered
another hour after the rises stopped, nymphing half-heartedly, but with
no more luck. I didn't really expect any.... was mainly just hanging
out.... being there, you know?

Saw four other fishers the whole time, every one well-behaved. Faith in
my fellow man renewed.

JR