A Good Day on the Water

TIME:  1:30 PM to 4:30 PM
WEATHER:  Partly cloudy, mid 60s 
WATER CONDITIONS:  0 Units
LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Top of Island above Ackerman/Handicap Access to Mill Dam Eddy
ROD USED:  8’9” 5 wt JWF Winston
FLIES USED:  #14 Norfork River ICE Gray Scud, #20 Zebra Midge (Black with Silver Wire) (Red with Silver Wire)
HATCHES:  Midges, Caddis
OTHER:  Fished with Wayne.  We decided to fish close to home today, and started at the riffle across from Wayne’s,  Water levels were still dropping, and on a whim I began fishing the off side of the riffle (left descending bank) and was into fish immediately in the fast, shallow water.  At first, the fish were taking the red zebra midge, but after water levels stabilized, the fish began taking the scud.  It was an awesome time as I ended up with a good dozen and a half fish, the quickest I’ve reached that total in several weeks.  Meanwhile, Wayne began working his way up the pool, but the pool was fishing slow.  By the time I began wading upstream, he was at Mill Dam Eddy and catching fish with regularity.  I had no luck in the lower pool, so waded on to Mill Dam Eddy while Wayne fished along side the island.  At the downstream point of the island, I caught 8 fish in the skinny water, with about half taking the scud and the other half taking the red zebra midge.  Wayne caught 10 at the top of the island and began working his way back downstream, so rather than wade further upstream, I fished along the gravel bar at Mill Dam Eddy, and caught 3 or 4 fish.  We both waded downstream where I missed 3 and caught one in the pool.  Neither of us caught any big fish, but it was one of my most successful days in several weeks. 

Windy, But Productive

TIME:  1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
WEATHER:  Partly cloudy, mid 70s, windy with gusts to 25 mph 
WATER CONDITIONS:  0 Units
LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Mill Dam Eddy to Riffle above Island below McClellan’s
ROD USED:  8’9” 5 wt JWF Winston
FLIES USED:  Yellow Wayne’s Fly, #14 Norfork River ICE Gray Scud, #14 Norfork River Gray Scud, #20 Zebra Midge (Black with Holographic Tinsel)
HATCHES:  Midges, Caddis
OTHER:  Fished solo.  Water was still dropping, but Mill Dam Eddy already had a boat with 3 fishers, so I opted to fish the skinny water along the island with Wayne’s fly tied a few inches below a hard egg bead pegged on the tippet.  I began to catch fish immediately, though not as many as my good friend Wayne would have caught.  I worked my way up along the island, and while I was wading up, a local husband/wife guide team was kayaking down to fish the area I had just fished.  Fighting the wind with every cast, at the top of the island I ended up with a tangle the size of a small bird’s nest.  I removed the egg bead, tied on the gray ice dub Norfork River scud, and dropped a zebra midge about 9 inches below.  Wading toward the riffle above the island, I caught a few fish on the zebra midge, but caught nothing in the riffle itself fishing from the right descending bank.  Wading across the primary riffle, I fished the secondary riffle and caught 3 fish, all on the zebra midge.  I waded downstream on the left descending bank, fishing the bubble line, and managed to fool another 3 or 4 fish, all taken on the zebra midge.  At the top of the island, I fished the tailout of the pool just before the water began spilling down the right chute, and was surprised catching several fish on the zebra midge.  This is the first time I had ever fished this small pool.  Wading downstream, the right chute produced another 3 or 4 fish.  At the bottom of the island, all the fishers had left Mill Dam Eddy, the wind had abated, and I was the only one within sight.  Here, I caught another half 3 or 4 fish before a boat with two fishers "floated" downstream through the very run I was fishing, bumping bottom the entire way.  They apologized, and I advised where to find deep water to motor downstream.  After they moved through, I managed to catch another couple of fish before calling it a day.
Though one brown was caught, no large fish were taken today.

The Big Ugly Rules

TIME:  1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
WEATHER:  Partly cloudy, mid 70s 
WATER CONDITIONS:  0 Units
LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Mill Dam Eddy to Riffle above Island below McClellan’s
ROD USED:  8’9” 5 wt JWF Winston
FLIES USED:  #14 Norfork River ICE Gray Scud, #14 Norfork River Gray Scud, Chernobyl Ant
HATCHES:  Midges, Caddis
OTHER:  Fished with Wayne.  Wayne waded in and began fishing downstream towards the end of the gravel bar at Mill Dam Eddy while I fished near the lower root wad at the top of the gravel bar.  I only caught 2 or 3 fish, and began walking upstream; Wayne continued fishing the lower run, and, of course, caught fish.  Just above the top of the island I began fishing the tailout of the riffle wading upstream on the left descending bank and caught a couple of fish.  At the riffle above the island, I caught a couple more fish, but 4 or 5 fish hit the strike indicator.  I finally tied on a Chernobyl ant, and was rewarded with 3 quick fish.  After fishing Mill Dam Eddy, Wayne fished the skinny water upstream on the right hand chute, and caught about a dozen and a half fish.  We met up at the top of the island and began working our way back downstream, with me fishing the Big Ugly fly in front.  I didn’t catch anymore fish, but Wayne picked up a few more on the way down.  By the time we reached Mill Dam Eddy, we were both tired, and called it a day.

Fishing Behind a Vacuum Cleaner

TIME:  1:30 PM to 4:00 PM
WEATHER:  Partly cloudy, mid 70s,
WATER CONDITIONS:  0 Units
LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Mill Dam Eddy to Riffle above Island below McClellan’s
ROD USED:  8’9” 5 wt JWF Winston
FLIES USED:  #14 Norfork River ICE Gray Scud, #14 Norfork River Gray Scud
HATCHES:  Midges, Caddis
OTHER:  Fished with Wayne.  Upon entering the water, Wayne opted to fish the skinny water along the island while I fished Mill Dam Eddy.  We were both into fish immediately, except Wayne was actually landing his, and I was missing most of mine (Wayne says the distance between the fly and strike indicator was too long).  I did end up with 8 or 9 fish, but Wayne was taking a fish on almost every cast.  After leaving Mill Dam Eddy, I waded upstream, fishing behind Wayne, and realized he had virtually “vacuumed” the river as I had only a couple of takes.  I waded upstream to the riffle above the island and caught a few fish, including two nice cutthroats.  I only caught a couple of fish wading back downstream, both caught above the island.  Wayne took a few along the island, and several immediately downstream of the island, including a couple of nice cutthroats.  I caught a couple more in Mill Dam Eddy, and we left the water tired, but satisfied with our afternoon of fishing. 

Finally, Some Wadable Water

TIME:  2:30 PM to 4:00 PM
WEATHER:  Partly cloudy, mid 70s,
WATER CONDITIONS:  0 Units
LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Island above Ackerman-Handicap Access
ROD USED:  7’9” 2 wt Winston LT
FLIES USED:  #14 Ginger Cockleburr, #14 Black Cockleburr, Big Ugly
HATCHES:  Midges, Caddis
OTHER:  Fished solo.  Kay and I were walking along River Ridge Road and noted the river was down, unexpectedly; SWPA has projected generation all day.  After the walk, I quickly suited up and walked to the river, fishing the skinny water along the right descending bank,  The Big Ugly worked its magic on three fish, giving the 2 wt a good fight.  The river was quite crowded, but the riffle across from Ol’ Charlie’s was vacant,  so switching to the Cockleburr fly, I managed to take a few small fish, bringing attention to the area.  Immediately, a couple of other fishers came to the area—one above and one below, both at close but okay distances, leaving the area at Ol’ Charlie’s vacant.  I switched sides, and successfully fished the Cockleburr, landing several small fish.  Soon thereafter, one of the fishers that left the area to fish where I was catching fish came back over to fish just above me, a little too close for comfort, but he left after a few casts, so no harm done.  Deciding to work upstream, the Big Ugly was tied on.  At the same time, a 20-foot river boat, with a guide and 3 fly fishers bounced its way downstream, hitting what seemed like every rock in the otherwise fishable water.  It hung up several times causing the guide and passengers to get out and get it started downstream—STUPID.   The guide was so embarrassed that he wouldn’t look me in the eye, and the fly fishers apologized profusely.  Still, they succeeded in putting all the fish down, ending what was otherwise a good day. 

A Beautiful Fall Afternoon

TIME:  1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
WEATHER:  Partly cloudy, mid 70s,
WATER CONDITIONS:  0 Units
LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Mill Dam Eddy to Riffle above Island below McClellan’s
ROD USED:  8’9” 5 wt JWF Winston
FLIES USED:  #14 Norfork River Gray Scud, #18 Black/Silver Zebra Midge
HATCHES:  Midges, Caddis
OTHER:  Fished solo.  Mill Dam Eddy fished slow, with only a couple fish caught.  Nothing worked along the island as I fished upstream.  The riffle above the island fished okay, producing over a half dozen fish, including some nice cutthroats; all were caught on Wayne’s fly, none on the zebra midge dropper.  A couple of fish were caught along the island as I fished the return trip downstream.  Likewise, a couple of fish were caught at Mill Dam Eddy on the way out.  The fall colors were tremendous, probably the optimum day of the season.
NOTE:  Switched fly line to an olive WF Ridgeline, and so far I really like it.

A Quiet Afternoon Fishin’

TIME: 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM

WEATHER:  Clear, mid 70s

WATER CONDITIONS:  0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Along Island above Ackerman/Handicap Access

ROD USED:  7’ 9” 2 wt Winston LT

FLIES USED:   #20 Kay’s Gray, #20 Dunn’s Dun, #20 Cockleburr in assorted colors, #10 Chernobyl Ant, #20 Black/Silver Zebra Midge, Olive Wayne’s Fly, #14 Black Cockleburr

HATCHES: Midges

OTHER:  Fished solo.  After arriving home after church, the Norfork River was down, and weather was perfect for fishing the 2 weight.  I walked in near the house, and found the river a bit crowded.  I had intended to fish in front of Ol’ Charlies, but the new owner was sunbathing/fishing in a bikini off their “dock”, so I moved to the river on the left side of the island.  There were a few rises, so a switch to dry flies was in order after a couple of drifts with a nymph and dropper.  The small fish “missed” the various flies cast to them, with a result of no immediate hook-ups.  The bikini-clad sunbather left the river, and a vacancy!  I moved to the spot, and caught a few small fish on a #14 black cockleburr.  After several more casts, I tied on a Chernobyl ant and surprisingly caught a few more fish, then opted to walk upstream and fish the fast, skinny water.  Again, I was surprised at the number of fish trying to take the big fly, and managed to catch a few in the process.  Bottom line today was not a lot of fish, no big fish, but a good time.  Hopefully, our fishing will settle down in a few days, the crowds will dispense, and we can get back to normal!