Fishing for the "Poor man's salmon".

 It's Wednesday night at 10:00pm, and I just got back from a session on the BR.  Got to the car at 9:42 which is the latest return time this year. With a 10:00 pm starting time last night I was able to watch the US Woman's soccer team beat Columbia in a warm up match before the World Cup qualifying tournament which starts next Monday. Tonight it's a Perfect Manhattan and a blog page. 

This mornings effort left more than a little to be desired, fished on both the BE and BR without raising a single fish over 8 inches. It's been 10 days since my last good morning of fishing. I went this morning because the afternoons are bringing me no joy. The bugs have been inconsistent to say the least, and the number of anglers that are crowding into the Stilesville area to fish the invarias that are hatching there makes it easy to stay home and tie flies. The "Sulfur Zone" from the red barn down to the barking dog launch ramp has also received a large number of both drift boats and wade anglers without much of any afternoon sulfur hatch. July 1st is fast approaching and it's time for the dorotheas to step up to the plate and do their thing.

The fishing - You just gotta fish 7:00 to dark, (except like last night when I got there at six, and in the bright sun, the fish were going like crazy on a really good iso hatch).  Tonight I was there ready to go at 5:30 (just in case) and never saw an iso, nor did I see the cahills, golden drakes and sulfurs that were hatching Tuesday night. Nevertheless, there are bugs hatching and fish feeding after the sun goes behind the hills. On the WB it's the little sulfurs mostly above the gamelands and maybe even above Hale Eddy. On the BR its isos and cahills wherever the water temp is below 70. On the BE I haven't done as well lately.The water temps have probably shut down the BK until fall. The UEB is cool enough and there are some sulfurs hatching but far too many people have been fishing  there to make it appealing.

If you are coming for a day's fishing don't hurry, if you want to join the crowd up at Stilesville in the afternoon fine but don't get so tired or discouraged that you aren't on the river when it gets good. If you are here for a few days, bide your time, fish as much as you want but rest up and be fresh when things happen late.

 If you've never caught a shad on a dry fly now is the time.  They are up feeding in all the slow water pools on the BR. If you watch the rises closely you'll get the knack of identifying the shad rises but be ready, every once in a while it's a rainbow. Popped off three flies tonight on fish that weren't shad - just saying.  

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