Posted on June 11 2025
Its been a rough few days for A-119, what with being accused of disseminating ridiculous propaganda, calling wind turbines windmills, and suffering through the disappearance of not one but two blog pages.
After Monday's last hour fish hooking extravaganza I decided to take it easy and get some things done around the estate. Mowed the lawn, did some housework, called Vicki, got an appointment, drove up to Deposit to get my hair pruned, and still had time to get in a short nap.
The fishing - Opportunities for wade fishermen are still limited. The UEB at 600 cfs can now be waded, with care, the WB at 2300 cfs is still out of bounds as is the BR, the EB can be fished again with care, both the BK and Willow are now at fishable levels.
The bugs - At least where I've been able to fish are hard to find. Yesterday's iso hatch could be counted without taking off your socks and shoes. The evening hatch /spinner fall on the BE was also virtually non existent.
How'd I do? Stumbled around in a riff/run on the BK that I'd never fished before, saw one rise, hooked two fish, (both big rainbows), landed one and was refused by a third when the tail fibers bent under the bend in the hook. Spent the last hour on the BE where the lack of bug life was disappointing. Saw several fish rise once but because of the lack of bugs none fed regularly. Working my way back to the car side of the river in near darkness I spotted two bank sippers who rose enough to be located. Both ate my little spinner, one an 18 inch brown, the other a 22 incher that will in all probability be fish of the year.
Well A119 an interesting year for sure!! I made it to the octafishing club this year and having fished the WB in the 50’s,60’s,70’s, 80’s,90’s and20’s it it the first year that my ability to fish has been this negatively impacted by flows. I’ve had my boots on 3 times this year compared to a normal of at least 10→15. Seeing good hatch of female Hendrickson the middle of the 1 st week of June surely is an anomaly. The bank erosion from the high water is filling in once deeper holes and leaving trails of muddy water when wading . Can’t even measure how many cubic yards of Shaffer’s fields upstream to Cold Spring creek are now part of the river bottom. The River is getting wider and shallower requiring bigger releases to keep water temperature where we need it At least the high water has kept the Mergies off the trout they like to consume. Just counted five friends now fishing in a special place that kept the predators under control for many years. Wish you were heading to MO in 10 days.
Well A119 an interesting year for sure!! I made it to the octafishing club this year and having fished the WB in the 50’s,60’s,70’s, 80’s,90’s and20’s it it the first year that my ability to fish has been this negatively impacted by flows. I’ve had my boots on 3 times this year compared to a normal of at least 10→15. Seeing good hatch of female Hendrickson the middle of the 1 st week of June surely is an anomaly. The bank erosion from the high water is filling in once deeper holes and leaving trails of muddy water when wading . Can’t even measure how many cubic yards of Shaffer’s fields upstream to Cold Spring creek are now part of the river bottom. The River is getting wider and shallower requiring bigger releases to keep water temperature where we need it At least the high water has kept the Mergies off the trout they like to consume. Just counted five friends now fishing in a special place that kept the predators under control for many years. Wish you were heading to MO in 10 days.
A119 and Ed Smith
Congrats on a good day of fishing in relatively bugless conditions. Let’s hope the weather allows more water to open up very soon.
Ed Jones….why the continued negative posts? Are you just a bitter angry person who feels the need to drag everyone down to your level? You are the only one who is criticizing people here. Maybe you just need to go fishing, tell us how you did and add something positive to this forum.
Do you measure the fish that you catch, or are your measurements “by gosh and by golly”
Angler119’-Congratulations on landed to great fish on a difficult day. A 22”er. Fantastic!. I was on the BK/Willow yesterday and the bugs were hard to find as were the rising fish. Found a few fish working on the BK, landed2 a 14” brown and an 11”er. Or as I now call it- 1/2 of an Angler119 fish. Then the monsoon hit and it was over. Same thing on the Willow in the evening a few fish started, landed a 15” brown and another monsoon.And it was over. Ed
“Rough few days? "Come on. LOL.
It’s called criticism, of which we all need. No one is right all the time. And, fish sizes are far from “whole numbers” all the time.
dopderbeck…..Big East.
A119 sounds like a pretty good night. Congrats on the 22 in.fish. Hopefully I’ll be on the river over the weekend.
Thanks for the info
Ha! Your first sentence made me smile, thanks for that. I apologized for the wind turbine correction!
Honestly, the river being high this year has been great for the fishery, terrible for the fishermen. With how much these poor trout get hammered, it’s good to see them get the W and live for a spring without getting stabbed in the face every day.
Which river is the BE again?