Tuesday, September 25, 2012—SWPA has NO CREDIBILITY!

TIME: 8:00 AM to 10:30 AM

WEATHER: Low 60s to mid-70s, sunny, windy

WATER CONDITIONS: 1 unit increasing to 2 units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Riffle above Island below McClellan’s

FLIES USED: #14 olive Norfork River scud, #20 red/silver zebra midge

ROD USED: 7’ 9” 2-wt Winston WT

HATCHES: Midges, Crane flies

OTHER: I fished with Ed, Bill, and John. We walked in at Mill Dam Eddy to what we thought was falling water. Bill and John remained downstream while Ed and I waded upstream. We crossed from the island to the left descending side of the river, and fished our way upstream towards the riffle, but I only took one fish on the scud/zebra midge combination.  The water did not recede as projected, but remained at what appeared to be around 1/4 unit.  I waded upstream to the left descending side of the plunge pool and noted rising water.  Ed and I waded to the bank, and realized that water was rising too fast for our return to our walk-in—WE WERE STRANDED.  SWPA had projected 0 generation after 6:00 AM, but instead ramped up to 2 generators at 8 AM, with a swift rise in water levels.  Why they could not or did not project this is beyond me.  This is the only region of the country in which we have NO RELIABLE GENERATION PROJECTIONS.  Please write your US Senators and Congressmen and complain about this; we don’t have to tolerate this kind of arrogance.  If this happens with minimum flow, it will only be a matter of time until someone is seriously injured or dies from unexpected high water conditions.

Meanwhile, Ed and I waited on the bank for any passing boat, but none were seen.  We walked through the woods to the road near McClellan’s entrance, knowing that Kay would pick us up if she was aware of our situation; sure enough, she came to our rescue.

I am so incensed at SWPA; I sure hope someone gets the political entities involved, with the threat of cutting Federal funding unless they provide accurate, reliable projections similar to that provided by Tennessee Valley Authority, Bonneville Power Administration, and other quasi-governmental power agencies in the rest of the US!

Monday, September 24, 2012—Crane Flies, Again

TIME: 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM

WEATHER: Low 60s to mid-70s, sunny, windy

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Riffle above Island below McClellan’s

FLIES USED: #14 olive Norfork River scud, #20 red/silver zebra midge, #14 Norfork River crane fly

ROD USED: 7’ 9” 2-wt Winston WT

HATCHES: Caddis, Midges, Crane flies

OTHER: I fished with Ed, Bill, and John.  We walked in at Mill Dam Eddy to falling water.  Bill and John remained downstream while Ed and I waded upstream.  Fishing was slow on the scud/zebra midge combination.  Shortly after 9:00 AM, crane flies began surfacing and fish were rising to them. Ed moved to the center of the riffle, between two streams of river, and immediately began catching fish on top; most of the fish were 14-15 inches and pretty hot.  He continued to catch fish on the crane fly imitation for the next 3 1/2 hours.  I fished the right descending side of the riffle and caught quite a few fish. I waded upstream to the plunge pool and again caught fish, about half of which were caught stripping the crane fly imitation. I switched back to the scud/zebra midge combination, moved to the left descending side, and caught several fish in the small riffle.  wading downstream to the tail out above the island, the fish continued taking the zebra midge, with far more misses than catches.  Bill worked his way upstream and caught lots of fish below, along side of, and above the island while John caught a bunch of fish below the island. 

Saturday, September 22—A Good Time Was Had By All

TIME:  8:30 AM to 1:00 PM

WEATHER: Low 60s to mid-70s, sunny, windy

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Riffle above Island below McClellan’s

FLIES USED: #14 olive Norfork River scud, #20 red/silver zebra midge, #14 Norfork River crane fly, #22 olive/black midge

ROD USED: N/A

HATCHES: Midges, Crane flies

OTHER: I accompanied Ron and Matt, son and son-in-law respectively.  Ron began catching fish immediately in the tail out of the riffle just above the island; most fish were caught on the red/silver zebra midge.  About 9:30 AM, crane flies began hatching and fish began rising to the hatching insects.  I tied on a Norfork River crane fly, and the “boys” caught an occasional fish.  Matt moved to the center of the riffle, between two streams of river, and immediately began catching fish on top.  Ron waded upstream and likewise began catching fish on top.  This continued until about 12:00 PM, and the fish stopped taking the crane fly fly.  I tied on a #22 olive/black midge trailer below Matt’s crane fly, and he caught an occasional fish on the trailer.  At about 12:30 PM, neither the crane fly nor the trailer would catch fish.  Ron and Matt switched back to the scud/zebra midge combination and again caught fish, but sporadically.  At 1:00 PM, we called it a day after lots of fish being caught by both.

Thursday, September 20, 2012—A Great Crane Fly Day

TIME: 10:15 AM to 11:30 AM

WEATHER: Mid to high 70s, sunny, breezy

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Upstream riffle above Ol’ Charlie’s

FLIES USED: #14 Norfork River crane fly, various midge and midge emerger patterns

ROD USED: Winston 8’ 6” 5-wt WT JWF

HATCHES: Crane flies, midges

OTHER: Fished solo.  I waded in near the upstream riffle above Ol’ Charlie’s, to find this section of the river completely void of fishers.  I caught a nice fish on the first cast, and continued to catch fish on almost every cast for about an hour, catching at least 30 fish, and probably more.  A prolific midge hatch began and the fish keyed on them like crazy, completely leaving the crane fly imitation I had on.  I tried almost every midge emerger pattern I had, then almost every midge, with little success.

As I was walking out, there were a bunch of fishers near the stocking chute at Ol’ Charlie’s; the fishers must like catching fish in a barrel because that’s just about what it is like.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012—It’s Dry Fly Time

TIME: 12:00 PM to 2:30 PM

WEATHER: Mid to high 70s, sunny, breezy

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Mill Dam Eddy

FLIES USED: #14 Norfork River crane fly

ROD USED: Winston 9’ 6-weight BII

HATCHES: Crane flies, midges

OTHER: Back from a trip to the Canadian Maritime Provinces to find cooler weather and fishable water, I fished with Wayne and Bill.  It was Wayne’s first time on the water in several weeks, but he hasn’t lost his touch, catching at least 5 dozen fish.  I hung around Mill Dam Eddy, wanting to fish dries, and caught a couple of dozen fish on a crane fly imitation.  My friend, Donnie, came down the river, and I convinced him to fish dry flies as well.  He, too, caught several on the crane fly imitation.  Wayne finished catching all the fish upstream, and waded back down, waiting to exit the water.  As we left, I snapped a photo of some pretty wildflowers on the river bank.