You Know They Don't Come Easy!

 

Sitting here at home looking out at the fog and rain, it seemed like a good time for a Wind Knots and  Tailing Loops segment, except there have been almost no questions. Hopefully Ed S. and I provided more than enough theories about odd hour Hendrickson sightings to satisfy Jim N., fly tyer extraordinaire.

Andrew wanted to know if I added sparkle to my caddis emergers. I know little about tying caddis emergers, and have caught only two fish on them, (none on the ones I just tied). Followed a LaFontaine video using Antron, which is sparkly, for the body and shuck, but somehow they all came out looking more like a fish hook I recently had to cut out of the braided rug in the fly tying room. 

John H. asked about a skinny small black spinner, most likely a pseudo, and one with a yellow egg sack, a Hendrickson no doubt, (FYI the Lady Beaverkill is an old Catskill fly sporting a yellow egg sack that some still use to imitate the female Hendrickson). 

With no other questions to answer I thought I might touch on my thoughts regarding the fish population currently in the river system. Keep in mind that my observations are based on only three weeks of fishing. First of all, with the poor May fly hatches, there have been very few times when I've seen a good display of rising fish. On the occasions, (3), when I did find enough bugs on the water to get fish up, the numbers were very encouraging, with lots of fish to cast at. A high percentage of the fish caught have been three and four year old's, measuring between 12 and 16 inches, with a good mix of both rainbows and browns. I have caught relatively few two year old's, 10/11 inchers which is usually the case early in the year. The big surprise has been the small number of fish 17 inches and up. My April and May catch totals most years usually show between 30 and 45% of the fish to be over 17 inches long. So far this year the number is an August like 15%.

Why? Last year I caught many fish between 19 and 20 inches, probably the remnants of the huge 2018  year class. They were fat and healthy and I expected to renew acquaintances with them as 20 inchers this year. How come I haven't? Perhaps my eroding skills have played a part, however, it's also likely that two other factors are contributing to the low number of big fish ending up in my net. One, there have been insufficient may fly hatches to get them up and feeding on the surface. Two, the low water has changed where they are hanging out. The bank sipping browns I so like to fish for have moved into deeper, safer pools where they won't be trod upon by wade anglers or end up in the talons of an opportunistic eagle. Hopefully they are still around and better water flows and more prolific hatches will result in more success catching them.

A sincere note of thanks to all who have taken the time to report on their success or lack thereof. Clearly we are all struggling. Just knowing what to expect helps to trim unrealistic expectations and lets you enjoy even minor triumphs on a river that is a true challenge for the best of fly fishermen.

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