TGIF

It was a tough week.  There were fewer bugs, more boats,  more wade fishermen and fewer rising fish than the previous week..

Why?  I'm not sure but here are several factors that probably contributed.

1- The number of boats on the river system is certainly a big factor.
2- Wednesday was a sunny, high pressure day (never a good thing) that followed a run of cloudy low pressure days.
3- Thursday had winds in the 15 - 20 mph range making accurate casting a real challenge.
4- After allowing Cannonsville to spill without maxing out the release, NYC maxed out the release      on the WB which dropped the temp from the high 40's to 43.
5- The Hendricksons (one of the best tasting flies) have run their course on the Big River and the BE, which has resulted in an even greater concentration of boats on the UE and WB.
6- High water levels that concentrated what wade fishermen there were into the few wadeable areas.

The outlook?  Last year at this time we also had high water, cold temps and delayed hatches. The season turned around and we had 6 weeks of great fishing (before a July heat wave and excessive rainfall effectively ended the season in late July).  I believe the river system is full of fish.  We need less rain and  moderate water levels to spread out the fishermen.  If this happens before the rest of the "big bugs" hatch it could still be a great season!

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