Time for a break before the sulfurs.

 

Well, the week is over and I'm glad. I'm going into quarantine just in case my week of losing fish is contagious. For the record, I landed 41% of the fish I hooked this week. Today I lost four of the five large fish I hooked (landed the three two year old's (10, 11, and 12 inches) with no problem.

 Why did I lose so many fish? Believe it or not, I do give things like that some thought. For sure I lost five big fish this week because of errors I made, but it seems to me that a greater percentage of losses occur when fish have been heavily fished. The fish right now have been badly beaten up throughout the entire system. When they are tired from being caught numerous times, they often get downstream from you and just roll and spin which often results in the hook ripping out. The second reason for losing fish that have been caught numerous times is the manner in which they take the fly. Early in the year I have a lot of three knuckle deep hook removals. Right now the fish are much more careful about what they eat and most hooks are lodged in the very edges of the fishes mouths making it easier for them to come unstuck during jumps, quick turns and sudden bursts. 

The outlook - We need rain to freshen the rivers and spread the fish out. We need sunshine to warm up the water up in the "Sulfur Zone" so that the bugs hatch. Rain is predicted every day for the next week, hopefully it will help with water levels. Sunshine? Who knows. Many of the guides have left or are leaving for rivers out west where the snow melt is just starting to subside. The difficult fishing has no doubt reduced the numbers of anglers. Of course when the sulfurs get going everyone will be crowded into the "Zone" but at least we'll have lots of rising fish to throw at.

The fishing - It's tough right now. If you happen to be where the Invaria are hatching it can be good, but for the most part the only sure thing is from 8:30 until 9:15 at night, when everyone is out of their waders and opening up a cold one. The Dorothea's usually are hatching with regularity up in Deposit by the end of the first week of July. 

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