And The Woman's Soccer Team Won Gold!

 

Back in Lordville after a very nice three day stay in Lafayette. Jean was so glad to get rid of me that she packed enough food for me to stay in Lordville for two weeks. Drive down was uneventful and by the time I got things unpacked and stowed away it was time for lunch. With the colder air temperature and mostly cloudy skies I was in no rush to head back up to Deposit. 

Left the fishing camp about 1:30 and stopped at the gamelands for a look see. The water has receded enough to fish there, but I saw no bugs or risers in the fifteen minutes I sat and watched the water. The water below Oquaga is still colored with visibility of about two feet. Saw neither bugs nor rising fish from the 17 bridge down to the Men's Club in Deposit. Above Oquaga the water was quite clear and very manageable. There were both bugs, (some olives, but mostly sulfurs), and rising fish to throw to in the two places I fished. If the fish got any easier to catch in the three day of flood reprieve, you couldn't prove it by me. Was able to catch enough fish, (all between 13 and 15 inches), to make it an entertaining day. For the record, it rained on me again, both when I was with and when I was without my raincoat. 

The Outlook - Please don't everybody rush back because I saw rising fish. If you have a date with a guide and want to throw streamers, you will probably catch fish. Dry fly fishing opportunities will probably be limited for the next couple of days, with high and murky water prevalent everywhere below Oquaga. The good news is that the water temps are down into the low sixties almost everywhere, and with the bank full flows and predicted nighttime temps to be in the 50's they are likely to stay there.

 What does this mean? Almost certainly the fish have left their thermal refuges and are heading back to their year round homes. When water levels return to wade able levels we should all be able to spread out and fish parts of the river system that have been off limits since mid June.  

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