Traditionalist Trout- Short Early Season TR

Went over to the "Mayfly" River yesterday. Wolfgang and Joel know
where it is. Got there about 11am. There were a few rises, very
subtle, as well as an occasional tan caddis. For no particular reason
I tied on a Pass Lake. Worked well.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...IMG_0127rs.jpg

I fished it for the first couple of hundred yards, picking up an
occasional fish. Some were decent sized at about 10". When the Pass
Lake got slimed I switched to a CDC Elk caddis. Took a couple of nicer
fish, both when it was drifting and pulled under and retreived.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...IMG_0128rs.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...IMG_0129rs.jpg

When I got about a mile above the car, I reversed myself and fished
back down with a cast of three wets. Two bead head PT soft hackles
with a March Brown wet in the middle. I took almost all the remaining
fish on the March Brown. Only one fish, barely out of diapers, took
the point bead head. None took the first.

The river has changed quite a bit in the 30 years I've been fishing
it. This run used to be waist deep.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...IMG_0145rs.jpg

Now its barely over my knees while the shallow flat above it has
slowly been dug deeper and now is a great spot for fish to ambush
food.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...IMG_0147rs.jpg

I told Jacci (my wife) I was going to be home about 4. Ended up an
hour late. I could have stopped an hour and a half earlier with barely
any difference in my catch and got home on time. The fish and bugs
were most active an hour either side of noon. After that, even though
there was an occasional egg layer skittering over the surface, the
fish seemed to lose interest in floating bugs. I probably should have
switched to streamers for the last hour or so but what the hell.
There's a whole season ahead of us, right?

g.c.