It's time to tip your cap to the trout.

Much to my surprise the air conditioning instillation crew that came to correct a D- instillation job done last August was finished by noon. A look at the job left me just shaking my head, the finished job is a C- at best.  I paid the crew the balance I owed them and will finish the job myself. The installers were very nice young men who have not been taught what good workmanship is and what a finished job should look like. But, they were done in time for me to pack the car and head down (without my cell phone) for a bonus two days of fishing. Tried to call Jean to let here know I was going and discovered the phone wasn't in the car. The U-turn only cost me ten minutes and I was in the water before the bugs even thought about hatching.

The bugs - They just don't make'm like they use to.  Have seen pseudos hatch in a snow storm and they usually aren't smiling if the wind isn't blowing fifteen or twenty. Today with a gentle breeze (ask Jim N.) and temps in the upper forty's most of them wimped out (at least where I was). Fortunately some good sized olives and a few isos decided it was time for their coming out party and kept both the fish and Angler 119 occupied.

The fishing - It's fall, the bucks in my neighborhood aren't posing for pictures on the trail cam,(let alone tending a scrape) and if they won't play, I'll go fish. Today wasn't great. It was breezy and chilly.  I dressed warmly and was comfortable, but the lack of bugs and the slow water where the fish are now feeding make getting the fish to eat a fly with a hook in it harder than I'd like. Had rising fish from about 2:30 until 6:30, hooked eight and landed five, none over 15 inches. Had at least a dozen fish say no. They were hungry and were looking for things to eat, but there were no pushovers.

The outlook - Low water and normal fall temps should keep the bugs hatching and the fish rising. That said, do not expect to have to take your socks and shoes off to keep track of how many fish you catch. Even if you take the Troutfitter's heads up about the early morning sippers to heart and then do the pseudo thing in the pm, catching fish here is an achievement to be proud of.  You will have rising fish to throw at, you should have a pool to yourself, the leaves are still beautiful and if you dress warmly it's a great time to be on the river, just be sure to give the fish credit if you fail to catch them.

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