Wednesday, September 27, 2006

DATE: Wednesday, September 27, 2006

TIME: 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

WEATHER: Low 40’s rising to low 70s

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, McClellan's

HATCH: Several midges and a few crane flies

ROD USED: Winston 8’ 6” 5-weight WT Joan Wulff Favorite

FLIES USED: #14 tan Norfork River scud, #14 gray Norfork River scud, #16 San Juan worm

OTHER: I fished with Ron and Kay. Fish struck well on the San Juan worm, but a drag-free drift was absolutely essential. Ron probably caught a couple dozen fish, and Kay out fished me the first couple of hours, catching fish pretty frequently. It was a great day.

Monday, September 25, 2006

DATE: Monday, September 25, 2006

TIME: 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

WEATHER: Low 50’s rising to low 70s

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, McClellan's

HATCH: Several midges and a few crane flies

ROD USED: Winston 8’ 6” 5-weight WT Joan Wulff Favorite

FLIES USED: #14 tan Norfork River scud, #14 gray Norfork River scud, #14 mini bugger, #20 Dunn’s Dun, #20 Kay’s Gray

OTHER: I fished with Ron (Kay’s son). Jeff and his friend, Jim, joined us later (both were first time fly fishers). Ron and I walked up from Wayne's and began seeing rising fish at the riffle above the island. Fish were rising to midge emergers and crane flies. We caught a couple and moved upstream to join Jeff and Jim. Ron caught several fish on the gray Norfork River scud, and Jeff and Jim also caught fish on a scud.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

DATE: Tuesday, September 19, 2006

TIME: 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM

WEATHER: Low 50’s rising to low 70s, windy

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, McClellan's

HATCH: Several midges and a few crane flies

ROD USED: Winston 8’ 6” 5-weight WT Joan Wulff Favorite

FLIES USED: #14 tan Norfork River scud, #14 gray Norfork River scud, #14 mini bugger, #18 caddis

OTHER: I fished with Ed and Phillip, and their two friends from Austin, Texas. We fished downstream and got into a really good midge hatch at the riffle above the island. Fish were rising to midge emergers, and also an occasional caddis. Everyone caught fish. Jerry and I fished down at Mill Dam Eddy and got into a few rising fish, but the wind was high and it was difficult for the fish to see the flies. We did quite well at the riffle above the island.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

DATE: Wednesday, September 13, 2006

TIME: 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM

WEATHER: Low 50’s rising to low 70s

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, McClellan's Dock downstream through “Catch and Release” area at Otter Creek

HATCH: Several midges and a few crane flies

ROD USED: Winston 8’ 6” 5-weight WT Joan Wulff Favorite

FLIES USED: #14 tan Norfork River scud, #14 mini bugger

OTHER: I fished with Rod and Mel. Fishing was great today, but catching was challenging. I did manage to catch a few dozen, but worked really hard fishing the mini bugger below a strike indicator and then the tan scud below a strike indicator. I did catch a 16-inch brown as the largest fish. Wayne and Frank were also fishing the Norfork River, and both did well.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

DATE: Tuesday, September 12, 2006

TIME: 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM

WEATHER: Low 70s

WATER CONDITIONS: 1 unit

LOCATIONS FISHED: White River, Rim Shoals

HATCH: None

ROD USED: Winston 8’ 6” 5-weight WT Joan Wulff Favorite

FLIES USED: Practically all my White River patterns; nothing worked consistently

OTHER: I fished with Rod and Mel. Fishing and catching were both really tough today. I managed to take a few fish, but had to change flies every couple of fish as there was no consistency with the bite. The White River was rising to 1 generator when we arrived and fishing never really took off. I caught 10 to 12 fish.

Monday, September 11, 2006

DATE: Monday, September 11, 2006

TIME: 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM

WEATHER: Mid 50’s rising to low 70s

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, “Catch and Release” area

HATCH: Several midges and an occasional crane fly

ROD USED: Winston 8’ 6” 5-weight WT Joan Wulff Favorite

FLIES USED: #14 tan Norfork River scud, #14 mini bugger

OTHER: I fished with Wayne and Frank, most likely the two best fly fishers to fish the Norfork River. I have been blessed to know and fish with both these guys. Frank is a classic fisher and an extraordinary fly tier and innovator. Fishing was great today, but catching was challenging and difficult. I worked really hard to catch, maybe, a dozen and a half fish.

Friday, September 8, 2006

DATE: Friday, September 8, 2006

TIME: 8:30 AM to 1:30 PM

WEATHER: Low 70s to mid-80s

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, McClellan’s Dock to downstream near the “Catch and Release” sign

HATCH: Several midges and a few crane flies

ROD USED: Winston 8’ 6” 5-weight WT Joan Wulff Favorite

FLIES USED: #14 olive mini bugger

OTHER: I fished with Wayne. Fishing and catching were both great today. This was likely the second most fun day of fishing in recent memory (Wayne's catching the 7 straight browns over 20 inches would be number one). We both caught lots of fish. I actually tried keeping up with Wayne and soon found that it was physically impossible—no kidding. Wayne could hook-up, bring the fish in, release it, and begin casting again at a much more efficient rate than I. He managed to catch over a 100 fish today. I did hook a large (guessing over 22 inches) cutthroat, and got the fish in shallow, flat water. I was sure I would land the fish as I had on 5X tippet, a 5-weight rod, and was in a great location. To my surprise, the fish hit the warmer water and immediately broke off at the knot. It sure seems like I'm losing a lot of large fish these days so I will keep taking lessons from Wayne. I did catch a grand slam today. As a note, I was extremely sore from fishing on Wednesday, September 6. Both arms ached from tendonitis and the fall I took on Crooked Creek a couple of weeks ago (I still have a large knot below the right elbow). Anyway, I took a couple of Tylenol and went to bed. It must have been a virus or something. Getting old with all the aches and pains is no fun.