Caddis Chronicles

This week we bring you a great nymph pattern that my good friend and regular fishing partner, Vincent Caffarra, developed.  The Isonychia, or Slate Drake as it is commonly known, is very abundant in our Eastern freestone rivers and streams and this pattern mimics the natural well.  In the video, the fly looks somewhat light in color, but once it gets wet it looks like the real thing.  Again, thanks go to Tightline Productions - Tim and Joan Flagler - for another well-produced video.



Fish them all year 'round in sizes #10 down to #16, and sharpen the hook every so often.

This is likely to become an annual event.  We'll post info when next year's is planned, so you can join the fun.

Since many of you asked, here is the info on where I get the Fl. Orange beads (Pumpkin Heads):

LINK: Wingaersheek Flies

They have all kinds of tungsten and other beads, as well as a selection of other fly tying materials.  Also, they will be at the Marlboro, MA and Somerset, NJ Fly Fishing Shows in January 2012.

Tie some up and don't forget to sharpen those hooks...and they will get dull as the tungsten beads gets the fly DOWN on the bottom.

Here it is, the Pumpkin Head Midge.  At least that is what I call it, for obvious reasons.  It's just a version of the hot spot nymph, which for the record, we did not invent.

The Pumpkin head midge is a very effective fly that works quite well now, and in the winter months.  It will also take fish the rest of the year as well, so don't leave home without it.  I use pheasant tail for the tail and abdomen, and a bump of white/clear zelon or antron for a wing bud, or whatever - I just like the contrast it gives the fly.  And the peacock herl thorax speaks for itself, or I should say the trout have spoken in favor of it since it was first used to decorate womens hats back in the day.


Again, kudos to Tim and Joan Flagler of Tightline Productions for their extra effort in producing another great quality video in record time. We hope you enjoy it.

Stop by our tying table at the International Fly Tying Symposium this weekend if want a tutorial on this or any other fly for that matter.

The big fly tying event is finally upon us this coming weekend.  As usual it takes place at the Doubletree Hotel in Somerset, NJ.  We'll be there tying flies along with many other outstanding fly tyers from throughout the world.  So come on down if you can and stop by my table and say hi.  We'll have the tying videos we've made with Tightline Productions playing on a monitor, and we'll be happy to show you any techniques or patterns you may have questions about.

LINK: International Fly Tying Symposium

The show hours are:

Saturday 9:00AM - 5:00PM
Sunday   9:00AM - 4:30PM

Hope to see you there.

I do, and it's my fishing!  I did get out yesterday for a couple of hours, and managed the skunk.  I did hook one of the bastards, but this time the trout won the battle- popped the fly off like my 5X tippet was really 8X.  Yep, the knot broke.  It happens.

When I left the house I was full of positive anticipation.  The weather seemed to be good and the river called, so we suited up, rigged up, and set foot in the cold, clear water.  And it was cold, very cold in fact, and before long I was wishing I had worn my thermal pants and more than a sweater.  But I fished hard until the cold made my fingers hard as stone, and worthless for the most part.

We all need days like these.  They teach us that the seasons have really changed despite bright sun and calm skies, and wishes for days past.  And so we need to change our clothing choice and fishing tactics. I guess its all part of the experience, and in the end, its all good.

On another note, the homestead is back together as of today with the exception of the metal chimney cover/cap, and the gutter.  This is a good thing, because I was getting tired of hearing the deer laughing in the morning at the state of the house as they drank from the pond.

AND if you are in the area this weekend, be sure to come to the International Fly Tying Symposium at the Double Tree Hotel in Somerset, New Jersey.  Stop by and say hi, I'll be mixed in there with the gang of fellow Jersey boys.

LINK: International Fly Tying Symposium Homepage

Check your knots and sharpen your hooks.

We got clobbered by the No'easter this past weekend, so we won't be posting for a few days...or fishing, or tying, for that matter. 

We have no power here at the homestead, and no fireplace to keep warm, thanks to an oak tree that came down on the house Saturday night that took out a corner of the house and the chimney.  We were out at the time, so we didn't experience the noise mayhem it must have made when it fell.  Our street was blocked by a number of trees so we have been walking in and out from 1/2 mile away.  The town is clearing the trees now, and I'm waiting for the insurance adjuster and writing this using my wireless card.  Things will be back to normal before you know it.

Anyway, hope you all are well, and we'll be back after a short break.

Here is a follow up video to our last post that Tim Flagler from Tightline Productions made, that shows how the sparkle emerger captures air bubbles around the abdomen.

Tim prefaces the video with the following:

This fly cannot be judged by how it looks in the vise or in the fly case at your local shop. It has to be seen underwater, imao that's where fish spent most of their time.

The following video illustrates some of the fly's many attributes like trapping air bubbles and translucency, but it falls short by not showing its most important feature– the wonderful shimmery look the antron sheath has underwater, in a real stream with natural sunlight. Gary believed (I know this from reading his book) and so do I, that the shimmer is what makes trout really take notice.

LaFontaine Sparkle Emerger Underwater from Tightline Productions on Vimeo.

The Orvis news posted our latest tying video, which is one of our go-to flies all year.  We tie them in the 4 primary colors that Gary details in his ground breaking book, Caddisflies.  These colors will cover 80% or more of the available caddis in North American trout streams.

1. Brown & Bright green
2. Brown & Yellow
3. Gray & Black
4. Ginger 

LaFontaine Sparkle Emerger from Tightline Productions on Vimeo.

Enjoy and feel free to ask questions.

And sharpen those hooks!

By now you have likely seen the video we made with Tim Flagler on how to tie a bead head Bird's Nest.  It was picked up this week by one of the fly tying magazines and posted on their website.  The video prompted petulant comments from a tyer who made it clear that my version is NOT a Bird's Nest, as he had seen the original tied by the originator, Cal Bird.

The reason?  My version has the hackle tied "beard" style, while Cal tied it with the hackle enveloping the fly 360 degrees.   He went on to say that Cal disdained our way of tying the fly, and concluded via underwater observation, that Cal's way of tying the fly killed compared to "these quarter round patterns."   

Interesting.......my results show that the fly works equally as well tied either way and that the fish don't give a shit.  The fly works, period. 

And that leads us to an important question, which is: If a fly is NOT tied exactly as the originator tied it, can it still be called the same fly?  I sort of feel I'm wasting my time here, as I think most of us feel that it doesn't matter as long as the change is minor and/or does not change the overall appearance of the fly. 

Here are a few examples of other flies that are tied differently than the originals, which coincidentally, I found on the web site of our detractor:

* The original Pheasant Tail nymph as designed by Frank Sawyer, was tied with only pheasant tail and copper wire and had no legs.  Some versions are tied with a peacock herl thorax.  And still others are tied with legs.  All of them are called Pheasant Tail nymphs.
* The original Adams was tied with mixed brown and grizzly hackle golden pheasant tippet for the tail.  Some tie the tail with moose body hair, or dun hackle fibers.  Again, all of these versions are still called an Adams.

Anyway, we got out on one of the local trout streams today and managed to bring a few rainbows to net.  A hot spot caddis larva and LaFontaine sparkle emerger did the trick.  The water was clear and cool, and still a little high.  The air was calm, and cool enough that by dusk you could see your breath.  Little Blue-winged Olives came off sporadically, as did size 16 light caddis, but the trout weren't interested in taking them off the surface.   It was good to be on the water with only the sounds of squirrels foraging in the trees above, and the geese above them, flying over in formation.

Now I wonder if I am sharpening my hooks right.  I guess we'll have to make a video and wait for the comments.

I like to fish in the fall (or Autlumn) as much as any time of the year.  There are fewer anglers on the water, the trees are showing their true colors, and the birds and other animals are on the move again after settling down for the summer.  And it just seems to be a quieter time to be on the water.

Last week Tim Flagler asked me to help out on a video he was asked to make for the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife, to promote their fall trout stocking.  We met up with the good folks from the hatchery one early morning and did some fishing in the South Branch of the Raritan River for the cameras, and this is what Tim put together using some of that footage along with a bunch of other shots from the hatchery and elsewhere.  If you're interested, I'm the guy in the red cap that doesn't know what the hell he is doing with the fly rod.

On Northern California waters, it's the only bead head fly I fish.  And on my home waters of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, it's one of my go-to patterns when I have to fish subsurface.  It can fished alone, or in tandem with a smaller nymph trailing a size 12 or 14; I also will fish small Bird's Nests trailing a larger nymph.  It goes with out saying that this fly can also be trailed beneath a high floating dry fly to cover both surface and subsurface feeding trout. 

This one has been picked up by Midcurrent, so we just have the link.

http://midcurrent.com/videos/tying-a-soft-hackle-mayfly-emerger/

This is a most versatile pattern as you can just change the throax color and hook size to imitate all of the different mayflies in their emergent state.

Here is my soft hackle version of the Autumn Sedge we highlighted in our last post.  This fly imitates the emerging pupa quite well.  Fish it dead-drift then lift it when it gets to likely holding water, or fish it on the swing and let the current lift it at the end of the swing as the line tightens.  These are tied on size #10 hooks - the first is tied on a Czech Dohiku hook, and the second is a Dai-Riki dry fly hook.


This is an easy tie that works well this time of the year, fished any time of the day.  We've been known to fish them with a split shot on the tippet to get them down into the deep holes and runs.  Fish them through the run and don't lift the fly to cast again until the current has brought the fly to the surface.  We get some hard takes on the end of the drift just as the fly ascends to the surface.

Here is my low riding adult imitation: Ruddy orange body; amber zelon underwing; orange dyed elk body wing; touch dubbed hare's ear for the thorax.  Size #10 dry fly hook.  This pattern has worked well for me as a general searching pattern early and late in the day this time of the year.

Tie some up and fish them, you won't be disappointed.

All comments and feedback are welcome!

Tim Flagler works fast! It was just a couple days ago he filmed us fishing after the flood and he already has a video of us on the web!  (See my post of 9/5)

Nice job, Tim!  And yes, we do need to spread out......you would still have to film all of us though, so put on your running shoes. : )

We are experiencing a very low, thick cloud bank that's full of wet.  Seriously full of wet!  The vast grayness hanging just above the treetops dropped it's load earlier today and the rivers again exceeded flood stage.  And in so doing, they also have zero visibility!  Even if the trouts had GPS on their dash, it would be worthless - like a drunk in the dark.

If you are in the area Sunday morning and happen to have your tying tools with you, stop by Shannon's Fly Shop in Califon, and join me for a couple of hours of fly tying - we're going to do Flies for Fall Trout.  How to tie them and how to fish them.  The fish may not be able to see your flies, but that doesn't mean they won't look good to us. 

It's a great way to watch me make a fool of myself in front of a tying vise and a gang of strangers, and maybe I'll learn something at the same time.  It's always fun.   We'll do a couple of dries, and a couple of wets/nymphs, and maybe take a request or two.

And why should you want to do that?  So you can go out to your favorite stream on a cool October morning when the trees are in all their golden glory, and do everything right so one of these beauties comes to your fly and takes it like candy.....

 
Now that's living!

After a somewhat long, forced withdrawal from fly fishing for trout thanks to hot, dry weather, we fished last evening.  The river is still somewhat high and still turbid, but not so much so that we couldn't fish our flies and have the trout pick them out of the suspended particles flowing by them.  It was a warm, humid evening with calm skies tinged by the soft golden glow of the late summer sun.

We were actually fishing for a purpose.  Tim Flagler of Tightline Productions wanted to put together a video of post hurricane trout fishing to show that the fish are still right where they were before the storm.  He was also hoping to get some footage of the proper way to release a trout after landing it.  Me, John C., Len R., Jim of Shannon's Fly Shop and his mate Donna, all met at the river and did our best to give Tim what he needed.

As you might expect, not much was happening on the surface so the order of the day was nymphs and streamers.  We all hooked fish and managed to land a few nice ones, mostly on nymphs in the course of a few hours.  The trout are right where they should have been despite the way the river had flooded the week before.  They were all healthy and fought hard - several managed to break me off before I could get them to hand.................see what happens when you don't fish for a couple of weeks?  The mind and the muscles get rusty!!!!

It was great to be on the water with friends.  There is nothing like spending an evening standing in cool flowing water, warm summer sun on your face, fishing, and sharing some laughs with your friends.  Sure, we fished much too close to each other under normal circumstances, but sometimes the catching takes a back seat to bullshitting.

AND.........

Mr. Q. caught a beautiful brown a few miles down river from us.........I got this photo from him when I got back to the fishing shack.  Way to go buddy!        

I know we're digressing again, but the rivers are just too full of water and debris to fish right now. 

The old wives tale says that the bigger the acorns, the worse the winter to come.  If you believe in that stuff, we're in for a doozey this coming winter season.  This is a typical acorn from one of the oaks on my property this year.  The things are huge!   This photo is not doctored or p-shopped, just a little ole acorn next to George for perspective.  When one of these fatties falls from its mother and lands on the roof, it sounds like someone is tossing rocks at the house.  


The squirrels may be happy now, but that may change when they are freezing their asses off this winter trying to figure out where they stashed them.  And the deer, they think they're in candyland right now.

Our rivers are flooded and off limits at the moment, so we're left to tie flies and comtemplate the conditions we'll arrive at when we do get on the water in the hopefully near future.

We're also spending too much time checking out the web for snippets of trout, flies, clear water and other related stuff to live vicariously through until we can do it ourselves.

I found this ditty posted by our friends at Moldy Chum

If ever there was someone that has life pretty much figured out, it's this guy.  He'd likely beg to differ, but if it came down to it, I seriously doubt he'd want to wear our shoes, if even for day.

TURN IT UP!


What's in your portfolio?  Does it really matter?

Screw it.  I'm going fishing........

Yep, we had an earthquake.  Actually, Virginia did yet it was felt here in Jersey as well as in many other east coast states and even Canada. 

We also confirmed that we have have a Black-chinned Hummingbird visiting our feeders.  They are a very rare visitor to our neck of the woods.  I showed a photo of one of the hummingbirds to a bona fide bird man, and he instantly identified it as a Black-chinned.  I knew it was different from the others, as it has a very deep purple throat and the black area above is nothing like the Ruby-throated species.  It also has a beak that is noticeably longer than the ruby.  Pretty cool stuff.

On another note, more fly fishing related, the rivers are rebounding nicely after a long, hot summer with little precipitation.  The recent rains and cool nights are just what the trout ordered.  We hit the mid fifties here in the woods last night.  Unfortunately, I'm off to Boston in the AM, but I hope to hit the rivers this weekend with rod in hand and flies on the line. 

Until then, tie some up and get out on the river and fish!

I think we just had an earthquake............even the trees were shaking.

And here is the very best of why I love living where I do. I have identified about 6 hummingbirds that frequent our feeder by there coloring.  One, a mature male dominates the others.  He sits on the wire and puffs his ruby red chest out when the others fly close.  And if they have the nerve to try to feed while he is present, he chirps loudly and attacks them with abandon.  Still, they all manage to find the feeder free of antagonists often enough that they can feed without stress.  Karen and I often sit out on the deck after dinner watching them as they feed.  They are beautiful birds, and for some reason, watching them can be the most relaxing things I can do.      

 
The tiny birds are fascinating.  They hoover one moment, and then the next they are streaming away like a winged bullet into the canopy.  When they hoover, the sound of their wings is pitched differently depending on whether they are moving forward or backward.  Sometimes they just hang in the air without any lateral or horizontal movement whatsoever.  They must be the most agile animals in the world.

The moral of the story...........just because you can't fish, doesn't mean you can't enjoy what nature has to offer. 

I held the tiny nymph on my fingertip, a mere speck I duplicated with a clumsy fake.  As I cast it into the fast moving current, I too became a speck, held by the expanse of beauty that surrounded me, engulfed by a sense of peace as enormous as the nymph had been small.  Amonst the mighty scheme of things, I felt I had a place.  - Chiya Sagara

I love this quote.  It captures the sense that while we fish, thigh deep in the flow of a cool trout stream, we become entangled in the natural world that is truly much larger than we alone can ever be.  There is no truer peace than when one surrenders their being to that which they cannot control.

We do this every time we step into the fishes world..............  
    

We are not always sure where they come from, but they find the forums.  On one of our regional NY,NJ and PA fly fishing forums, we found this post (exactly as we found it) under the topic "Jurisdiction Question". 

Anywho there is a (what jerseians would call a WTS) trout crick that rolls off the top of the appalachians for maybe 1/2 a mile in NJ, then into NY for almost equal distance (ny water is bigger and further downhill thus had the greater # and bigger trout (as usual)). A precarious spot indeed, in years of late ive noticed more DEC (more toward hunting season). if i wanted to stalk this creek for the wild trout it has and i stepped into UNPOSTED nj land and cast a fly would i SERIOUSLY get in trouble if a CO was there (excluding the instance he was looking for such an act and if so hes an A-hole who has it out for either; me, loves the crick, hates new yorkers, or hates fly fishermen). i mean really? the creating of borders cut a small trout crick in half and i cant fish the pool ahead of me because i dont have a 80$ trout stamp non resident SHOT AS HELL nj license? that creek is MY TOWNS CREEK.

you know what? its not posted nj so F it, im a born native of this town and i intend to fish its sparkling waters until i cant lift my arm or my leg

So the question becomes......

If you run into this guy on the water do you:

a) Talk about the fishing and what flies are working
b) Call the authorities and tell them you found Sasquach
c) Ask him why he pees like a dog
d) Ask him if he has any Grey Poupon
e) Run like hell to the nearest post office to see if his picture is on the wall

I'm out running errands today and while in the Califon area, I decided to drive along the South Branch of the Raritan, where the road parallels the river for a mile or so.  The river is very low, and the water temperatures lately have been in the low to mid 70"s most days.  Poor conditions for trout, particularly if they are stressed from fishing.  If left to themselves in the deeper holes and cooler stretches, they will survive quite well.

The river level is low, so low in fact that the tops of many rocks are high and dry, when typically they will be under water.  The water is very clear and trout are easily spotted as they hang just above the bottom barely moving.

In one stretch I observed two guys in the water standing next to a large, half exposed boulder about 25-30 feet off the mouth of a major trout spawning tributary.  On the top of the boulder they had a pale blue, plastic bait container, and they were casting their wormed hook right up into the mouth of the creek.  I've been fishing near this creek for 25 years, and in the conditions we have now I have seen dozens of wild and stocked trout stacked in the deep mouth where it meets the larger South Branch.  Today was no different, you could see them from the road. The creek is cool, and the trout are there because it is a thermal refuge; a respite from the harsh conditions of the main river.  They are there as a matter of survival.

So why do these idiots think it is okay to fish for them? 

Are they starving and in need of food?  From the size of their waists and jowls, that was clearly not the case.  Is this the only thing they could do on a hot August day?  I doubt it, and in fact, they could have fished for warm water species if they were so driven to cast a line.

Some states have fishing regulations that prohibit anyone from fishing within so many feet/yards of where a tributary enters a trout stream in the months of July and August.  Why?  So dumb asses like these two guys cannot fish legally for trout that clearly do not want to be disturbed.

I had lunch yesterday with Tim Flagler, the mastermind behind Tightline Productions, to talk about making some tying videos. Looks like he will be doing some video of yours truly tying flies and sharing my far-fetched theories on why and how I tie them, along with the best times to fish them.   At least that's the plan.  The end result might be somewhat different, but we'll give it a shot.  Whatever the end product is, we'll stand by it.  In the very least, we'll dispense another viewpoint to add to the already vast amount of information floating around the web and confusing the masses.   

Tim has been doing some tying videos of various flies he fishes, and we'll share one of his favorites here.  He is an accomplished tyer, and like a lot of us, he has some unique methods of his own to share.  The CDC and Elk is a caddis dry that is attributed to our friend on the other side of the pond, Hans Weilenmann of the Netherlands, one of the finest tyers in Europe.


Enjoy, and check out some of the other videos on his site.  Stay tuned for the animated versions of some of the flies I have featured here in past posts........post pasts? 

Our friends at Moldy Chum seem to have a sixth sense for finding fish, fishing news, and fly fishing related stuff, and this one's a fine catch indeed.

An Appropriations Subcommittee in the U.S. House left conservation funding and policy a mutilated corpse on the floor of their hearing room yesterday.

The funding cuts don’t put conservation programs on life support, instead they just left the corpse on the floor to bleed out. And to make sure they sent a strongly worded message to those of use who are about conservation, they added provisions to the legislation that undermine critical conservation and environmental policies.

Read the full story here from Dispatches from the Middle River:

Conservation Gets the Rusty Machete Treatment

See what happens when we elect people with their head up their asses?  They keep them there..........

Via: Moldy Chum

We've hit that time of the year when you head out to fish not knowing if you will actually fish or give the fish a break.   Last night I fished the South Branch with the not so anonymous Mr. Q, and before fishing I checked the water temperature as it had been fairly warm during the day.  The temperature was about 67 degrees according to my stream thermometer, which is right on the cusp of too warm to fish for trout.  Above 68 we stay off the water as it can be lethel to trout if they are stressed at that temperature, and catching them does just that.

There was little bug activity except for an occassional light cahill, yellow sally or caddis, but fish did rise when one would float over their lie, which was rare.  I saw three rises, and managed to catch two browns, both of them on an Iris Caddis.  Not bad and as it was a beautiful evening, cool air and calm, we'll take it for this time of the year.

As for today and likely tomorrow, most New Jersey trout streams are going to be too warm to fish.  There may be some smaller wild trout streams that will be cool enough, but that's about it.

Give the trout a break, and carry a stream thermometer if you are fishing during the summer months. When you get to your destination, check the water temperature before you fish, and if it's over 68 degrees don't fish.  If you have a ways to drive to get to the river of your choice, call the nearest fly shop for stream info and temps so you don't make the long drive only to find out the water is too warm for trout.   

Yep, that fog shrouded figure standing just upstream of the Hoffman's Crossing bridge is the infamous Mr. Q.  Somewhere below him, hidden by the fog, is his friend Mike.

It was Sunday evening after a day of warm rain followed by high humidity.  The river remained cool - 62 degrees - and so we had fog, lots of fog that formed a blanket over the cool water.  We also had a rising river the whole time we were fishing, that slowly brought with it cloudy, turbid water.  Needless to say, there were no bugs hatching, and very little fish activity as a result.

And the best part; Mr. Q outfished me!  He managed a wild brown on the swing with his sulphur a LaFontaine sparkle emerger.  I managed to get skunked, as did Mike.

Just another evening on the water with friends........dirty, rotten friends that caught more fish than I did. ; )

Always a pleasure, Mr. Q.

Finally, we have the Sulphur Usual.  This pattern in size #18 and 20, was our most successful with the finicky trout of the Delaware.  Despite other flies hatching in much greater numbers - Blue-winged olives and large Sulphurs - this fly brought the most trout to hand.  Talk about a simple but effective pattern!

Looks like our timing is just right for a trip north to the West Branch of the Delaware as the NJ rivers are bank full and chocolate milk in consistency. Kevin and I planned this trip a while back and we've been looking forward to it ever since with all the traveling for work all spring.  The rivers up there - the east and west branches of the D - are in fine shape as they are tail waters.  The Beaverkill and Willowemoc are not, and they resemble the NJ rivers.

We'll be camping right on the WB, so the fish will be at our doorstep the whole time, although we're just as likely to hit other stretches of the WB and the EB over the next few days.  The overcast skies should be ideal for hatches during the day, as opposed to when there is bright sun and the fish don't start looking up until just before dark............trout tend to mess with us more when they can commiserate in good light conditions (see previous post).

Post time is in 15, so adios amigos.  We'll be back in a few days will a full report complete with photos and other embarassing details.

I have my hook sharpener, do you?       

Vinnie and I hit a stretch of the South Branch we haven't fished this year and did well, but split the species. He caught all browns, and I caught only rainbows, despite fishing within a hundred yards of each other the whole evening and both of us using sulphur imitations.  Probably coincidence, but unusual all the same as wild browns dominate this section of the river. 


And yes, the trout are on to us........why else would they rise sporadically through dusk, and then once the sun exits the landscape and our eyesight with it, do they begin rising all over the place?!

They're setting us up, that's why.

Seriously, they have clandestine meetings behind a big, midstream boulder and every so often they send out a scout to rise in a random foam line once or twice, just to keep us hanging around. If we are lucky, we manage to make a good cast, get a good drift, and hook the bastard when it takes our offering.  That trout damn well knows we are going to release him after we bring him to hand, so it's no big deal; he's taking one for the team, and they all have a big laugh behind the boulder right under our waders.  

Then when it gets dark, they spread out and feed on the multitude of hatching and egg-laying insects drifting on the surface film, all the while knowing we can't see a thing!

I can hear their laughter now..................  

Yep, it's true, the minute you write about how good the hatches and the fishing are you get smacked right in the face with a humble pie!

I hit the river last evening, and when I got to the water, I was the only one in sight.  It was about 7:30 by the time I stepped into the drink, and the air was calm, warm and humid.  The water was cool, clear and somewhat on the low side, but definitely very fishable.  As I tied on one of my soft hackled sulphur emergers, I thought to myself how lucky I was to be alone given all the fisherman I saw upriver on my way to this spot.

No sooner did I think the thought than I hear someone in waders stomping through the field behind me to the water.  I turned, he stopped at the water's edge and said hi.  I said hi out loud, and muttered something else under my breath, sort of like, "Crap, not only is someone else here, but he had to do a bee-line straight to where I was."  As far as I could see up and down river, I did not see another soul, yet there he stood on the bank behind me.  What are you going to do?  We exchanged pleasantries; he asked if I was going to wade up or down stream, and although I had intended to work my way upstream I told he was welcome to slide in above me.  As surprised as I was when the angler showed up, he was gracious enough to stop and ask me what my intentions were before he stepped in the river.

He walked up a ways and soon we were both casting to trout rising sporadically near each of us.  I had plenty of water below me to fish, so I was fine........or was I?  No sooner had I thought this, than another angler came in below me to fish.  He gave me plenty of room, so no problem there, but I was boxed in. 

If I had more time, I would have left the river and gone somewhere else if only to have the opportunity to cover water as I fished.  Since there was only maybe 45 minutes of daylight left, I stayed and fished the water around me, frustrated that I was limited to where I could move.  There were fish rising around me, and I caught some, but I continually had to rest them as they would go down after missed strikes or when I managed to catch a fish because of the commotion.  I made the most of it, but generally I like to cover water and move.  Welcome to New Jersey fly fishing.......

Then there were the bugs, or more accurately, the lack of bug activity.  Unlike most other recent evenings, there were only a smattering of sulphurs coming off the water, a few midges and a random caddis for laughs.  At least that was the case while there was light.  Shortly after dark I could see in the headlights of cars going by, that the air was filled with sulphur and cahill spinners as well as various caddis and other flying insects. 

So there you have it. We caught some fish, and who the heck knows what will happen next time we get in the water.......maybe Anonymous knows, but I sure don't.

We've managed to bookend our weekly trips to Boston with some outstanding evening fishing the last two weeks.  Our fishing has been late afternoon into dusk and with anywhere from 5-10 bugs on the water; 90% of the fishing has been with dries!

We have seen large sulphurs, small sulphurs, light cahills, gray foxes, blue-winged olives (several species), isonychias (slate drakes), yellow drakes, paraleps, dark blue sedges, cinnamon caddis, and black midges.  The mayflies have been both duns and spinners depending on the evening.

The trick has been to figure what the trout are feeding on at any given moment, and being observant enough to notice when they switch from one bug to another.  Some nights they have stayed on one insect, and others they have stitched from one to another to another.  Of course, if that isn't enough, one fish may be feeding on the emerging cinnamon caddis, while another is feeding on sulphurs!  Most evenings we have had to use 6X tippet to get the drift we need and catch fish.

It's been loads of fun and challenging.

Sharpen those hooks as you fish, and you'll definitely hook and land more trouts!          

A fly that continues to puzzle me: why does it work?...............