The Skinny.

Way good, sweet, rocking, on fire. Just a few words to describe the past few trips. It's dry fly bliss right now. Nymphing is racking up the numbers, wets are powerful medicine pre and post hatch and streamers are very effective when used during the right time.

Large rivers are in great shape both flow and temp wise. Small streams can be epic right now. often overlooked and under the radar of most fly flickers. The visual aspect of the small stream experience is enhanced by the amount of flowers in bloom now.

For the dry disciples your time has come. Midge, Yellow Sallies, Hendricksons, BWOs, Sulphurs, PEDs and caddis. Early morning subtle rises have seen and taken the "Breakfast Sandwich". A size 12 Rusty spinner with a Size 18 Renegade tied 8" behind. Wake up and smell the coffee rig. Caddis are all but being ignored for the most part. Due to the amount of the easily picked off large mayflies. Why chase when your food comes to you.

The dark art of nymphing is super solid. Everything from size 4 to 18. Medium rig running in 3'-4' of prime water. Hot flies lately are Copper Johns, Barr's Cranefly, Purple Prince, Olive Hare's Ear, Zebra Midge, Shop Vac and every variation of Pheasant Tail ever devised.

Old school wet flies used pre and post hatch are receiving the tug. Great way to get the novice angler into the game.

We have been throwing the meat during the weakest part of the hatch. The time when you see the occasional, non steady feeder, one hit wonder fish. Ignore the rise and fish for aggressive/territorial targets. Large double rigs have seen the most use and success. Smaller rabbit strip streamers batting second.

This will end. Enjoy the last of the glamour mayfly hatches and prepare for the blue collar bug; the caddis. Day in, day out. It's the bug of the day. June and early July see some of the strongest caddis hatches of the season. Make time for the working bug schedule. We are taking bookings for a few dates in later June and early July if that sort of thing interests you.

Stock up on CDC Caddis, X/X2 Caddis, Caddis Soft Hackles and Frog's Fanny. It's moments away.

 

On Like Donkey Kong.

The reason for the lack of posts lately is due to conditions being kick ass. We did experience one slow day last week. Not bad considering that you're going to have one sooner or later. Kind of like going to Vegas for a week.

Instead of listing what's happening with hatches, patterns and techniques as we usually do, we are going to partake in the backyard fire ring, frozen margaritas, smoked ribs and put our feet up to chill. We have a few days off starting tomorrow and then we are right back at it for a long haul.

Until then expect a detailed report soon, have a great weekend and remember those who gave all.

Condition Green Light.

The time is now. We've been on six separate moving waters this past week. All have been rated good, very good and awesome dude! March Browns, Hendricksons, Blue Wings are out and showing daily. Trout and salmon are responding well to that top layer menu. Caddis coming on strong with hatches and egg laying activity. Yellow Sallies riding the slicks. Midges are an early a.m. affair, right when the air starts to warm up. Then there are the spinners to contend with. Oh yeah, flying ants producing some large snouts. That's for the dry fly crew. You know who you are.

Nymphing is rock solid. Medium leash length working fine. Stonefly nymphs combined with a mayfly type pattern has been a day in day out rig. Attractor nymphs getting the grab consistently. Let that rig swing up at the end of the drift.

Wet fly swing on full time. Soft hackles maybe old school and out of fashion in some circles. Those are the circles that are called a box for people who can't think out of. Grab a half dozen and see for yourself. Way fun also.

Streamers are taking a back seat due to the influx of bug life. Low light days combined with the double rig fills in the gap nicely. That charging grab never gets old.

Small streams are in perfect shape now. Clarity, volume and the amount of bugs make for a very pleasant trip. Throwing a dry/dropper rig or a tandem soft hackle all day is about as good as it gets.

If you haven't made plans to call in sick, start constructing an excuse today.We have one day open this month if you're interested and a few more in later June. Don't forget about July either. Wet wading and dries. Who doesn't like that?

The Weekly.

The time is now. Hatches growing stronger almost daily. Some days weak, some days steady, others non existent. Nymphing is lights out at times. The streamer systems are a go. The dry sees a little more action everyday.

Nymphing: Big Black Nasty Nymph, size 6-8. Hare's Ear, 12-16. P.T. 12-18, Crane Fly Larva, 6. Psychedelic Prince, 8-12. Birds Nest, 10-12. Zebra Midge, 16-18, red and black.

Streamers: YES! The MILF (Minnows I Love to Fish) pattern still getting whacked due to smeltage memory. Buggers and  sculpin patterns taking over. Smallish sizes (8-10) doing well. Alternate color combos continuously until you break the code.

Dry: BWO 16, Adams 12-16, Beefus Midge 18-20. HiVis Pheasant Tail parachute 16-18. Crane Fly 12.

Remember your first cast is your best cast. It doesn't matter if it's a streamer, nymph rig or the dry. Make it happen. It's only going to get better from here on out.

Windage.

We've been pretty lucky to fish some pretty spectacular places over the seasons. Atlantic and pacific salmon rivers, numerous trout rivers big and small and a few salt trips. One thing all these places have in common is the wind. It's a weekly event on some of the waters we guide on. The Kennebec is a prime example. If you were out today like we were, you either called it or dealt with it. We prefer to deal with it. Here are a few tricks to overcome the blow and stay in the game.

• Tighten Up: Tight strokes keep that rod at the same plane. Think of your rod as knife cutting through the wind. Keep that elbow close to your torso.

• Move The Body: Use your upper body when single or double hauling. Increasing line speed helps cut through the wind.

• Seek Shelter: If you can, find a place that's sheltered from the wind. Back channels, tails of islands and bends all offer some blockage.

• Tail Wind: The easiest to work with. Make a high angled back cast and ease up on the forward stroke. 

• Head Wind: Again back cast high and then power your forward cast low. Apply a short, hard haul on the forward stroke to really cut the wind.

• Spey Casts: Learn the single and double spey, snap C and T. These casts are under the rod tip, away from the wind.

• Shorten Up: Cut back your leader and add a larger diameter, stiffer tippet. 

• Wade Closer: If your lucky enough to happen upon rising fish count yourself lucky. Their view is broken and you have the upper hand. You can get much closer to surface feeders under these conditions. Knocked down cripples patterns work wonders in this situation. Don't forget that the wind blows terrestrials in the drink. A drown ant pattern is a go to fly in this situation.

The wind isn't a death knell. The Madison, Kenai, Cisnes, Dean and Kennebec all have windy days. Most solid fisheries do, it's a part of the game. Learning to adapt to current conditions is one of the greatest skills you can have.

Savoir those blue bird days and live for the shitty weather ones.  

Approaching Lift Off.

We are on our way to prime. The last week has seen fish with a positive interest in mayfly nymphs. Armed with that bit of knowledge you know what's next. Yep. The pop!

Recent rains have filled the void we started with earlier. Stream flows are in the 25th -75th percentile. What does that geeky little factoid mean? Normal. That's right normal. We haven't seen normal in awhile. Forgot what normal looks like.

Nymphing: The money technique. The lift and swing at the end are equally important as the dead drift now. All forms of the P.T. and H.E. The A.P. Nymph in black and muskrat, Copper Johns, Bird's Nests in olive, black and gray have all been working for the mayfly scene.

Little Yellow Sally nymphs becoming active on sunny days. Yellow Copper Johns and Yellow Tungstone in 14-16.

Other choices for us now are Prince Nymph, Zug Bug, Rock Worm Caddis and San Juan.

Streamers: Not on fire, yet. Soon. Buggers, leech and smelt patterns ruling the line up. Sink tips with a slow drop and retrieve. Changing color combos daily.

The DRY FLY: Soooo close. We have seen a few weak emergences of mayflies. Just enough to get the birds working but not the fish. Still seeing the midge feeder. Dropping down to 18 and 20. Griffith's Gnat, Renegade and Parachute Adams.

We have a few openings for next week. Take advantage of the space because it's becoming limited and there are only so many days left. Book a trip and start polishing those dry fly skills and casts.

Second place a set of steak knives.
 
Can't you just smell the Gink.

Big Water.

We work on some fairly large water throughout the season. Many folks are intimidated by the shear size and volume of water we introduce them to. That's a good thing. Having a healthy respect for moving water keeps one safe. Keep a few things in mind the next time you step into grande aqua.

• A wading belt, solid boots with bombproof traction and a wading staff are not fly fishing fashion statement accessories. . They are tools. Know how to use them.

• Read water. That sounds like a some kind of mysterious voodoo skill. It's really not. Take the time to really study the area you are about to wade/fish. Structure both above and below the surface will have a dramatic effect on flow. Shelves, buckets, pockets, eddies and riffles are the school zones of the flow. Slow down in these areas. 

• Work the edges. Don't think middle. Think the edge. That nice slow piece of water that everyone steps through. Fish it first. We catch quite a few fish every season without ever going over our ankles.

• Milk the riffles. Wide and fast. Read these carefully. There is structure within a riffle that goes unnoticed by many anglers. The fish do not ignore it. Just enough for them to tuck in front, behind or to the side. 

• Don't spook. The big glide. That nondescript moving water that doesn't look like much until you see a snout suck up something. Observe. Plan. Commit. Keep those presentations drag free, quiet and long.

• Foam is home. Never pass up a foamy eddy. Ever. No matter how small. These are the fly paper of the river. The cafeteria is open.

• Think small. Don't take the whole river into your field of vision. Break it down into a grid in your mind's eye. Keeping it in a 30' x 30' area is easier than trying to fish a baseball field. Think infield not outfield. Be a catcher and call the pitches.

 

Mayfly Month.

Stock up. Fill the gaps. Add the experimental patterns. The upright winged wonders will be showing up soon. Parachutes, Sparkle Duns, Spun Duns, Comparaduns, Vis-A-Duns, Thorax and ParaWulffs. The upright wing line up.

Hendricksons, BWOs, March Browns, Slate Wings, Quill Gordans and PEDs are all on deck for this month. Sizes 12-18. 4 and 5X. Dead on dead drift slack line casts. Waiting for the slurp.

When in doubt: Parachute Adams.