Posted on May 07 2026
It's 5:14, the Perfect Manhattan is on the table beside me. Mark headed for home at 8:30 this morning, (he hates fishing in the rain), and should arrive within the next couple of hours. Did a little house work this morning and intended to take it easy and limit my fishing to the Hendrickson hatch. Left early enough to drive over to Roscoe to pick up a 100 1x long, 12 and 14 dry fly hooks, (using 1x long hooks gives me the illusion that there will be room behind the eye to neatly finish the head). Neither fly shop had them, so much for buying local.
Drove back 17 to the WB, arriving streamside after a 15 minute walk, at 2:35. The water was "snow melt green", and judging by last year's Knotweed floating by, was rising. There were Hendrickson spinners in the air and both paralep and Hendrickson spinners on the water. Sat until 3:45 without seeing a rise, gave both the bugs and the fish a three fingered salute, and headed for the Lordville Estate. (The WB water temp at Hancock got to 49 sometime this afternoon so maybe the bugs came after I left, or maybe they just got cold feet).
The fishing - There wasn't any, at least where I was.
Camp happenings - My signal to the deer that there are apples on the ground, is letting the screed door close loudly. Have only seen three deer since I opened the camp a month ago. Found a bag of questionable carrots in the lower drawer of the fridge, rinsed them off, tossed them out the door, and for the first time since last October, let the door close loudly, a yearling deer appeared out of nowhere, looked at the carrots and walked away. (The deer here love my peaches, took a bunch home and the deer there let them rot).
Walked out on the porch this morning and the screens had at least three dozen Hendrickson spinners and a half dozen paralep spinners on them, despite the fact that there was no Hendrickson hatch here, and that the apple caddis have been gone for a week. Was reminded of this by the Hendrickson spinner flying up and down the window right beside me, (he served as a model for the spinners I tied this am). Am ending this so I can take him out to the porch and let him go do his thing.
Great report 👍
Fished the BR again. Not near as many caddis as the previous day. A lot of BWO around…but very few trout eating off the surface. The last hour, usually prime time, was dead. 1 for 2 for the day.
Angler119’- I also try to buy local , but if they don’t have it Craven probably does. He is also a local guy, not a big box retailer. If you’re interested he’s at — Charlie’sfly box.com. Ed
Angler119’- “It’s not a skunking” is a philosophical question I’ll leave for students of Camus. As for 1x long hooks—-I get mine from Charlie Craven at Charlie’ s Fly Box in Colorado. I like the Umpqua xc130bl. (Hook selection was easier way back when you could only get Mustad hooks thru Reed) Dennis – fishing has to get better eventually. All My Best. Ed
You’re absolutely right OS (One Seventeen) about my complete neglect of the trail. Shame on me! But in my defense, I can attest that I have not fished that spot in a while. I’ve had it in my mind right along that, next time in, I better bring my blades…
Lower Main had March browns and a few olives (a lot less than expected), and even less interest from the trout. Saw only a few non-chub risers the entire day/evening. Bee
Fished the UE and BE yesterday. It was chilly and windy. Saw a few Hendrickson’s and some small olives. From 4 until dark there were no signs of life.
Spoke to a guide who said they caught a couple tight to the bank, and another angler who was skunked.
Today will be different…
I to tie a lot of my top water flies, particularly spinners on 1x,sometimes 2x, because of that little extra room. My go to hooks are the Daiichi 1190 and Tiemco 5212..although the Tiemco hook for some reason isn’t available in size 16 anymore. You are correct..no casting equals no skunking.
I fished the upper WB yesterday from barking dog to stilesville. I never saw a fish rise from 2-5:30. I did see some bugs blue quills and olive. Very few of them and no fish on top. Hopefully the Hendricksons will move up soon. Fishing over the weekend and will report