Wind knots and tailing loops.

 With the rivers high and muddy and a cold wind blowing I decided to cross items off of the camp to-do list today rather than drive around looking for a place that I could get into the water and fish.

First on the list was the annual cleanup of the upstairs bunk room where a significant portion of the world's population of lady bugs spend their winter.  They have no trouble finding their way in in the fall but they never seem to be able to get back out in the spring. Filled a vacuum bag full of the little buggers.  I then removed the baseboards on the porch to get it ready for the new carpet which I ordered. Made up a batch of hummingbird food and hung up the feeder (with the flowering quince, apple and peach trees all in bloom, the hummers should be here shortly).  Mixed up a new batch of fly floatant and filled all seven of my little jars. Marked the new screen door for trimming, which will not be done until I bring a couple clamps down from home.  

Decided to take a break before going out to mow the lawn and answer questions from blog readers.

Ed Smith - if you call the Troutfitter and leave the address where you want the book sent, I'll sign one and send it along.

Kip -  You asked why the 2018 year class of browns was so good.  There can be many reasons for both good and bad survival rates.  Floods can wash away the eggs, too many predator's (big browns and mergansers among others), can decimate a year class.  In 2018 there was an unusual amount of water in the river system, wading was difficult right through May and then the rains came again in late July and continued unabated through the fall.  The high water made the young trout less concentrated both in the rivers and the tributaries.  With the high water the fingerlings were able to stay in the tributaries the entire summer, further reducing predation opportunities.  I didn't  like the restricted wading in 2018 but the big year class should provide multiple years of good fishing.

Brian - Your observation of a morning Hendrickson hatch was interesting. Checked the water temp on the big river that day and sure enough it stayed above 50 all night so the bugs didn't have to wait for things to warm up in the afternoon to hatch.  Maybe that's why I haven't seen big hatches of Hendricksons mid afternoon this year.

Thanks, to all the others who have taken the time to offer kind words or share their fishing experiences, it makes the blog more informative and fun to read.  

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