Eclipse delays the olive hatch!

Was driving past the Sunoco station in East Branch at about 2:15 when I saw people looking up at the sun.  Then I remembered and took a look myself.  There were clouds but you could see the sun through them and when I looked (at least I had my polaroids on) it was about three quarters covered by a black ball.  Kinda neat.

Was on the water (UEB) about 2:30 and neither the bugs nor fish had started yet (probably had been watching the eclipse).  Shortly thereafter the bugs (olives again) came and the fish ate.  Had almost three hours of dry fly fishing to fish sipping olives in a still water pool.  Lots of bugs, fish , casts and quite a few hookups. Things came to a halt by 5:45 and I set out for the lower WB.  Had very good fishing there early last week on a late evening hatch of olives.  Today rated fair to good, there weren't enough bugs and it was mostly yearling rainbows (now 10 to 12 inches long in the WB) that were feeding.  Had good action until about 8:00 when it shut down.

July and August this year have been the exact opposite of last year when you couldn't find a rising fish to throw at.  The difference?  Lots more water, cooler water temps and less fishing pressure.  Because of the cooler water temps some of the fish have stayed in their home pools.  With the heavy fishing pressure during the six week big bug season the fish became difficult to catch and many anglers called it quits.  The fish have, in some places, resumed their surface feeding. It's a great opportunity to dry fly fish.  Work 'til noon, drive down and fish 'til 5:30, then either drive home in the daylight or suck it up and fish the warmer water 'til dark, drink a large coffee and hit the road.

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