I'm glad there's no three knockdown rule in flyfishing.

 Yes, today is the longest day of the year, with 15 hours and 14 minutes of sunshine and an extra hour and 23 minutes of  twilight to fish in. Tomorrow will be a full second shorter but I've resolved to enjoy the day to it's fullest rather than waste time lamenting the pendulum's inevitable swing toward December 21st.

Back in the day, boxing had a three knockdown rule. If a fighter was knocked down three times the fight was stopped and registered as a TKO.  Well yesterday I took my third hard face planting fall of the season. Loss of balance? Not really, it's just a case not picking my feet up as high as I used to. My boot catches on a stick or tree root that is sticking up just a little bit from the ground and splat, there I am, flat on the ground. Did it again yesterday afternoon walking back to the car on a well worn path after checking out the Methodist pool. Drove back to the Lordville Estate, took two advil and dozed off until 6:00 when I headed back out for the evening fishing.

The fishing - In case no one has noticed we are being gifted extra days to fish the freestones.  The cold weather has them in good shape for fishing at a time when their "use by" date has normally expired. Tried the BE yesterday morning and it was a dud. No bugs, no risers and but one fish willing to eat a blind cast. Spent the mid day mostly driving around in a vain search for sulfurs. There were drift boats anchored in almost all of the prime fishing spots with anglers eating lunches and no fish rising. Got ahead of the boats and tried a spot where I've seen good sulfurs in years past. Every once in a while a sulfur hatched. Caught a beautiful 20 inch brown on a blind cast and then located four bank sippers in a little spot out of the wind. Soaked the upstream fly box and elbow getting into casting range and worked on the fish for an hour. Get'em all to look.  The nearest fish came to four different flies and refused them all, the other three ate. After my nap I fished a spot on the BR. Started a good hour before the sun would go behind the hill but neither the bugs or the fish wanted to wait. The BR fish are fat, sassy and not nearly as fussy about what they eat as their cousins up in Deposit.

If you don't like crowds or have as much trouble as I do finding a good invaria hatch, head for the BR around seven o'clock and stay 'til dark, you won't be disappointed.   

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