Two Outa Three Ain't Bad


True to my word, I went out this morning searching for a place to fish that had bugs, fish, and solitude. Selected a spot on the PA side of the BR where the WB water and the EB water haven't mixed yet. I was the only one there. Entered the water at 9:30, in bright sunshine with nary a cloud in the sky. Put on my go to BR fly when no bugs are hatching, ( a medium sized olive), and began casting. After about twenty minutes, the thought that I was just wasting time entered my mind, and then a rainbow came up and ate the olive. After that I was entertained, saw a few fish rise, got one to eat, hooked three more 'bows and three browns. The heart breaker was a big rainbow that ate the fly and took off straight across the stream. With yellow backing starting to go out through the guides the line went slack. Reeled in to find that the tippet had broken, (not a spin out). At 11:30  I was in the car heading back to the Lordville Estate. 

Had lunch and passed a good part of the afternoon quietly, (unless I was snoring). Tried out the newly acquired coq de leon on some sulfurs. The first fly was a disaster from the start, (sometimes that happens), but the tails on the other ones looked great. Decided to have dinner before fishing, ate and set out at 6:30 to renew the battle.

Picked another place on the BR in spite of two cars already being there. It was almost 7:00 when I left the car. Chatted briefly with both anglers and walked down below them where I sat and watched the water go by for about an hour. The first rise I saw was within casting range and the fish ate. I then cast at three fish that ignored me, had a fish again break the tippet for no apparent reason, hooked and landed a nice brown, hooked and lost a fish, perhaps by striking a little too fast and a little to hard. Called it a night, and walked up stream along the trail that leads to the road back to the car. At the end of the path I stopped to look up river towards the western sky and I saw a fish rise. waded out, made not more than a twenty foot cast and hooked an 18 inch rainbow that was fish of the day. Both the morning and evening were bugless. 

Walked out to the car and was offered a beer,("I don't have any Perfect Manhattans")  by a Troutfitter regular who I have talked to many times and should have recognized but didn't, for reasons too complicated to get into now. Markus, thanks for the beer, enjoyed talking with you, and if you are ever stuck in Sylvan Beach I'll be glad to tell you where to fish.

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