Current Conditions - The Fishing is Good Locally

Yesterday morning I returned from my trip to visit my grandsons in South Carolina and after unpacking and mowing the lawn for the first time this year, I set out for the South Branch to get some time on the water before going back to work today.   When I got to the river the skies were dark, spitting rain with a stiff breeze making things interesting.  The river was up a little and clear and trout rose randomly but with purpose.  I scanned the water surface and saw caddis shucks drifting along in the film.  When the wind calmed I noticed downed caddis, grannoms and apple caddis, struggling to become airborne.  They skittered along the surface in circles and zig-zags, but they went ignored.  Trout still rose, but not to the adults scrambling haplessly.

I had been fishing an adult caddis as I observed the caddis activity and rising fish.  I dead-drifted it, skittered it, and skated the fly just as the naturals were doing.  Then the light went on.  The fish weren't rising aggressively, they were rising quickly and taking their prey without much of a commotion....they were taking the pupae in the film just before they broke free of their nymphal shuck.  I tied on a size #17 (TMC102Y) Iris Caddis and dropped the fly just above a fish after it rose.  The fly drifted a foot or so and then was sipped in with confidence.  After a brief battle I netted a nice 13 inch rainbow.

The rain continued to fall, the fish kept rising here and there, and every good cast and drift over a working fish resulted in a take.  I missed a few, hooked and landed more than a few, all on the one fly.  And I didn't see another angler the whole time....in New Jersey!

Now that the Hendrickson hatch is finished around here, caddis will be the main course on the surface for the next week or two.   In the Catksills, the rivers are still quite high, but with any luck they will recede in the next week or so just in time for the Hendricksons/Red Quills, Dark and Light Grannoms, Blue Quills and early black and brown stoneflies.   Time will tell.

My two grandsons, Bryson 2 (left) and Henley 5 years old.  Yes, Bryson is almost as big as his older brother and full of confidence.  The binkie is his cape; he thinks he's a super hero, and I have the head bumps and bruises to prove it. Henley is full of energy and a soccer kid, loves it.  They get along great despite being very different from each other.  They both like to fish, so we'll have them casting a fly in a few short years.

Sharpen your hooks.