Keeping it in perspective - helps.

 

Left the fishing camp this morning at about 11:30. Caddis hatch in the morning on bright sunny days and I wanted to be there. I was. From noon until I left at almost 6:00, there were caddis hatching in profusion (both grannom and apple). The water was full of empty caddis husks and the fish were full of caddis pupa. There were splashy rises in the riff water all day long as the fish gorged on the emergers subsurface.

The Hendricksons were so badly outnumbered that the fish hardly gave them a thought. With bright sun and temps around 80, what Hendricksons there were, were quickly airborne and didn't offer much of an incentive for the fish to feed on top. It wasn't until there was a little cloud cover late in the afternoon that some fish started to feed on the surface (which was covered with bouncing caddis all day long).

The wind blew most of the day at over ten mph with gusts considerably higher. As is typical with the south wind, it didn't lay down in the evening, thus spoiling the potential spinner fall fishing just before dark.

The fishing - Was a challenge. With very few fish feeding on top, dry fly fishermen had their work cut out for them. I went through lots of tippet constantly changing flies and cutting off pieces below wind knots. Some fish would eat a caddis, most ignored it, some ate a Hendrickson many refused it. Hooked fish on floating nymphs, emergers, and duns of four different patterns. None worked well enough to be "the answer".

But, I was on the water for almost nine hours and had fish to throw at, virtually all of the time. Every once in a while even the smartest fish makes a mistake. If you were frustrated today, take a minute and think back on the times you've fished all day without seeing a single fish rise.