The Numbers game -part two.

A week or so ago I talked about the numbers game and the importance of using the USGS real time water temperatures to put yourself in a (hopefully) better position to catch fish.  The second vital piece of information provided by the  USGS stations is the real time flow rate of the river at each of the reporting  stations.  This is expressed in cubic feet per second (cfs), which is meaningless until you actually experience a specific flow rate at a place where you fish.

Unless you can memorize flow rates and their effect on the entire river system, you should keep a notebook and make note of the levels you can comfortably fish in various places.  You should also note at what levels you can safely cross the river (and where).

Why is this important?  Personal safety for one.  If you know you have had trouble crossing the WB at the Men's Club parking lot when the flow at Hale Eddy was 600 cfs, you'd best not try if the flow is at 750 cfs.  I cross below the Buckingham ramp in two places. In years past if the flow was 2,000 cfs I was good to go.  In recent years, given the ravages of time, my "good to go " number has dropped to 1,750 cfs.

In addition to the safety factor knowing the flow rate helps you fish in the better places. Fish like current rates in their comfort zone.  When the flow rate increases or decreases they change where they spend their time.  If you make note of where you caught fish at a certain cfs release rate, look for them there again when the water is at about the same level.

The fishing?  Not as good as it could be but far better than the last two trips. Failed to find a good  fly hatch (fished five places on three different rivers), but the fish were looking up and if you put a drag free cast over a riser you at least got a look. Ended up with a half dozen quality browns. It's probably worth noting that two of the fish were holdover hatchery fish both 17 inches long.

There are March Browns on the BE and in all probability on the BR (still too high to wade) with spring sulfurs soon to follow.  The doldrums are about to be a thing of the past.

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