Too Much Of A Good Thing.

 The stage was set. The water's been a little too cold for a good Hendrickson hatch. But last night the temp stayed up in the mid forties. The sun came out mid morning and warmed the air up to 58 and the water up into the Hendrickson hatching range (except for the WB and UEB where the release water might well have been suitable only for paraleps). I don't know for sure 'cause the WB at 3,000cfs just isn't wade able.

Left the fishing camp at 1:00 hoping to warm-up on the paraleps and then fish Hendricksons. Arrived at my destination 1:30  to find a Troutfitter regular suiting up with fish rising and Hendricksons already on the water. After a brief chat, I drove around to the other side of the river, walked down to the stream, saw a fish rise and on the second cast, he ate. By the time I landed the fish, cleaned off the fly and got ready to fish again, several things happened.

First, the sun said adios, (perhaps forever). Then the wind began to blow (yet again), and this time it didn't fool around. No gusts, just a steady twenty, straight upstream. It made it hard to see the risers, but I saw one I could get to, waded out and made probably a hundred casts before he ate. Why? It was blowing so hard many of the casts were no where near him and even if they were, the wind had the water so rough nothing could put the fish down. And, my fly had a tad bit of competition.  No, not from the Troutfitter regular or from any other angler. It was the Hendrickson's!  In lest than half an hour the hatch went from a few bugs to so many Hendricksons on the water that you wondered how the nymphs could all ever fit under the stream bed rocks.

The rest of the day turned into a lesson in humility. I seem to get my fair share of those. Caught one nice rainbow that felt sorry for me and picked my fly out of over two dozen that were within easy reach. The last pool I tried had produced eight of the bakers dozen I caught four days ago. Today the fish were all there, gleefully gulping Hendricksons that had been blown over and couldn't get off the water. Threw over their backs with a tail wind and got one refusal, (I think, hard to tell which fly was mine). It was one of those "Fool me once" experiences. Reeled it in and drove home in air temp that the car said was down to 48 degrees. 

My Perfect Manhattan has now taken the edges off what was for me, a rough day on the river.    

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