Would Welcome Some Cool August Nights.

 

Woke up this morning with the porch thermometer showing a temperature of 69, if I'd had my hearing aids in, I could probably have heard the trico spinners falling. Cancelled the drive over to the UEB and will wait for cooler nighttime temperatures before fishing the tricos again.

With the fishing a non starter I sat down and started a new to-do list. First item on the list was mow the grass, (did that yesterday but it's always nice to be able to cross an item off the list right away). By 2:00pm the list was not only finished but a couple of additional items were done and crossed off, and I decided to go fishing.

Had quite enough of the WB and it's finicky trout yesterday so I headed east. The UEB had cleared up  and was back down to within 20cfs of where it was before the rain. Drove up route 30 all the way to Downsville. There was one car at "Crusher Pool" and two at Power Line". Had in mind taking the walk through the hayfield, but only if it had been mowed, (it hadn't). Found fish rising on a mix of olives and sulfurs in a long run with the only access at the downstream end. Put all the fish down walking up - didn't even try to cast at them. Watched my wake roll across the river putting fish down as it went. Got to the riff at the head of the run and sat on a log and waited for the fish to get going again.

The fishing - Some of the fish were actually eating duns, fishing down on them I got several refusals before a nice big brown came up and ate my sulfur. A day and a half worth of adrenalin kicked in and I got my fly back before he knew what hit him. Was then able to settle down and make careful casts to fish that not only looked at the fly but ate it. Worked my way back to the car as the hatch waned. The two pods of fish closest to where the car was parked were eating subsurface and never gave my fly a look. Hooked seven fish, landed five including two 18 inchers, one a brown the other a rainbow.

In the evening I decided to try to get even with the WB fish. Arrived at 7:00pm and fished a run that has been good to me this year. Tonight it wasn't. Saw several splashy rises of fish chasing iso nymphs, got one refusal. A little after 8:00 the fish started rising in earnest, there were but a few olives on the water but an ever increasing number of the tiny little coppery colored spinners. The fish wouldn't look at my olive or my spinners until I put on a size 18 rusty spinner. There were pods of fish gulping and A-119 throwing a fly he couldn't see, in front of the pods. When I thought the fly was near where a fish rose I hooked. Mostly I put down fish but I did hook two, landed the first and lost what may well have been my fish of the year. Took the fly line and 50 feet of backing down and across the river before jumping. Got him back within about 40 feet when the hook just pulled out. It was a much better day than yesterday, but I would have gladly traded the two 18 inchers for the fish I lost.       

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