Some days you have to work for 'em, and that's not all bad.


Today was one of those marginal days, temperature wise. It got cold last night and the water temps were way below Hendrickson hatch level this morning.. It was partly cloudy and the wind was from the north. Would the water temp get to 50 degrees? That was the question almost anywhere you fished. The water levels are dropping (except for the WB which is spilling again) and every day you can wade more places and reach more fish. If the bugs hatch it should be good.

Finished up mowing the lawn about noon, ate lunch, checked the water temps and dilly- dallied around till 1:45, as the water temp was still too cold. Went up the PA side and saw bugs at Buckingham but no risers, same at Cadosia on the EB. At 2:30 I found my first risers of the day. The first fish I cast to ate and I was looking at backing streaking off my reel while standing in a heavy run of water where I had no chance of following the fish downstream.  Took a while but I landed a fat bodied 18 inch rainbow (every rainbow I hooked in the last ten days has been fat bodied - I won't mention it again).

The bugs - There were the usual suspects, paraleps, Hendricksons, apple caddis, grannom, chimarra and March Browns. The intensity of the hatch was determined by the sun, if it was out, the bugs came, if the clouds ruled, the hatch thinned noticeably.

The fish - Could have cared less. They are so fat they really don't care if they eat or not. One minute there are half a dozen fish all eating at once, the next five minutes you can't find a riser.

The fishing -  An hour and a half at the first stop resulted in five FBRs eating my fly, landed four. Left with the sun out and the water covered with paraleps and apple caddis and not one fish rising. Second spot had clouds, paraleps, Hendricksons and no risers, left after 45 minutes. Third spot (WB) had no bugs or risers. Did a walk down, turn around and head back to the car. Next stop had sunshine, March Browns,  Hendricksons and splashy risers. Cast at the two risers that I could reach and they both ate. The little one got away. Last stop was in a big pool where a Troutfitter regular had unknowingly usurped my spot. The bugs were glued to the water and the trout were happy to take advantage of the easy pickin's. I dutifully stayed upstream from the angler and was rewarded when two FBRs backed down to where I was standing and ate my fly. (The Troutfitter regular did much better with the sippers in the pool). He reads the reports and recognized me by the beret I fish in and the Lamborghini I drive. 

You had to work for them today, what with the low water temp, high water and fish so full that they don't care if they eat or not.  

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