At Least We Are Saving On Suntan Lotion.

There have been days when both Jean and I have wondered what we were thinking to come back from sunny, warm Florida so early. Thankfully, this was not one of those days (at least for me). Got to the river at 2:00 (paraleps  usually hatch before Hendricksons), and the water was covered with them. There were a few of the size 16 olives mixed in and after 4:00 a few Hendricksons showed up. The fish ate like pigs at a troth.

The only problem was the weather. The sun actually made a cameo appearance while I was enroute to the stream. The clouds quickly regrouped and conjured up some rain. The air temp reached the mid-fifties and the water where I was, got to 47.5 degrees. But the GD Hendrickson wind brought tears to my eyes. On every cast at 3:00 or 9:00, (12:00 being upstream and 6:00 being downstream), the wind took your fly and leader and did whatever it pleased with it. Finding where your fly landed was a challenge, instant drag (it was an upstream wind) was a foregone conclusion.

The fishing - Was really very good. Lots of fish were up and the wind created so much disturbance on the water that it was hard to put the fish down. Caught fish throwing upstream over their backs (try that at the pasture pool in late July), and on downstream casts if I waited for a lull in the gusts. The fish were mostly all rainbows with  a good mix of two and three year-olds with a few adult thrown in. Lost a couple good ones late in the day trying to land them too quickly in what was heavy current.

What you should do - If you know where you can wade at the current levels, come and fish. If you have a boat or can find a guide that isn't booked, come and fish. If you answered, none of the above or other, to the three choices above, wait a bit, sooner or later the rain will stop and the rivers will come down.

A WORD OF CAUTION - No idea what is going on at Cannonsville. The release is "0". The water coming into the reservoir is dropping, but the out flow still continues to rise. It they open the valve and release 1,500 cfs without prior warning there will drowned fishermen lining the banks like Alewives after a spill, Stay alert, check the water level at Stilesville often, watch for debris in the water and if you even think the water may be coming up get to the nearest shore (someone will give you a ride back to your car).