April 21, 2020
Flows: 195 cfs and rising. (to 232 cfs on Apr 22nd).
Water Temp: 40 @ 9a
Water clarity: Crystal clear.
Air Temp: low-40s @ 9a – high-50s @ 4p.
Hatches: Midge – 9a to 11a, heavy BWO 11a to 3:30p.
This BWO landed on me as I was re-rigging my dry fly setup. Perfect timing!
It was a challenging day on the river yesterday in Deckers. With the crowds that have been showing up – the fish are very skittish and spook very easily. Therein lies the challenge!
I met Brian at about 8:30a – he was already fishing in what I think now is his favorite spot – the Between the Islands Run! And why not – he had already landed a nice 15” brownie. Our plan for the day was to fish the Horseshoe Bend – but there was already a crowd between there and the Cable Hole. So I suggested that we head toward the Bend Hole which is about 1/2 a mile downstream.
This 15" female took a #22 Opel Rainbow Warrior.
Photo courtesy of Brian Kenney.
So we went there and parked – and for a very short while – we had the entire place to ourselves. There were no fishermen from the Bridge Hole to the Lone Rock Campground Hole. That’s a stretch of about 1 1/2 miles of water! It didn’t last though.
In the Bend Hole looking downstream towards the Rock Garden.
Brian started out at the Bend Hole where we seined the water. There were quite a few baetis - and nothing else. Very surprising. No midges, no caddis, no stoneflies – very surprising. While Brian continued to work the Bend Hole – I scouted downstream to see if I could spot any fish. I looked in all the usual places – holes and runs that I’ve seen and caught fish in on several occasions before. But it was pretty empty – at least I couldn’t see them if they were there. I finally did spot one feeding mid-stream in the run below the Bend Hole and at the beginning of the Rock Garden.
A couple of the baetis nymphs in the sein.
A baetis in the in the late nymphal stage.
In order to get into a spot that I could get a good drift to the fish required crossing the river. So I had to walk back up beyond the Bend Hole to a shallow crossing area, then hike back down to the run where the fish was. Once there, I began to rig up with nymphs. I had a #16 Olive Rubber Leg Copper John leading, followed by a #22 Stalcup Baetis and a #22 Chocolate Thunder.
By the time I was finished and ready to get into position – another guy was casting into the water no more than 20 feet from me. That really torked me – and I usually don’t say anything to people who encroach – but this was too blatant. So I said something to the effect of “did you not think I was going to fish here?” The guy replied with some excuse that I couldn’t really make out. So I just said “have at it buddy” and walked away shaking my head. These are the kind of guys that can ruin you day – if you let them. I didn't.
Head of a stretch that is called the Rock Garden.
So I worked my way down to Ray’s Run – which I had to myself for about a half hour or so. I spotted a couple of fish feeding on the south side of the run (the side near the road) – and was able to hook one of them up. He came out of the water a couple of times and then proceeded to get tangled in my flies. (This does happen when you use a 3 fly setup – more frequently than I like). So with the flies tangled around him – I couldn’t get his head up and he eventually broke off. Ugh! That was a big fish - looked like a salmon!!
I continued to work that section of the river and the mid-river seams – bringing 3 fish to the net. Two were nice size rainbows – 18” and 16”, the other a 14” brownie. I took two of them on the Stalcup Baetis. Not sure what the other one took – as he spit the hook before I could get him out of the net. These are feisty fish!
It was about noon when I landed the 16” rainbow and I was hungry! So I decided to break for lunch. I saw Brian fishing one of the holes in the Rock Garden on my way. He was busy and not interested in lunch.
When I was done with my turkey sandwich – I headed back downstream. I spotted Brian who was on the north side of Ray’s Run and just then I also spotted a couple of beauties feeding in a hole near the road. Brian put his hands up, as to say what’s up – and I pointed to the hole. I was going after them. But not before I checked with a couple of guys who were fishing nearby. They were not close enough to be where I would be encroaching on them – but asking is considered common fishing etiquette. (Yeah – I’m not one of those guys!).
The BWO hatch was so heavy - I had them landing on me. They were about size 18.
These fish were in the same spot that I hooked up the big one earlier and were feeding on dries. So I rigged up my dry rod with a #22 Parachute BWO followed by a #22 Cripple and a #20 Barr Emerger. The cast was difficult in order to get a drag free drift into their feeding lane. Well after several casts – I spooked them. And just then Brian showed up and said there were several fish rising down at the Bridge Hole.
Here's one Brian caught. 1st time I've ever seen a BWO with a yellow head.
Photo courtesy of Brian Kenney.
He said he was going to his car to get his dry fly rod/reel and I said I’d meet him down by the bridge. One of the nearby guys must have overheard this conversation – and he met us at there too. Uninvited!
I set up on the north side of the hole and was just landing my first fish when Brian made it back. It was a 15” brownie who took the Parachute BWO. I had another one hooked up shortly after but he got off. The action started to slow in the seams that I was fishing – so I decided to move across the river and fish from that side. Brian was already set up there, as were 2 other fishermen – the one that wasn’t invited - and another guy. But there was enough room for all of us.
15" brownie taken out of the Bend Hole on a #22 Parachute BWO.
Fishing the mid-stream seam – just before the large submerged boulders, I was able to land a nice 14” rainbow who hit the Cripple. Then the fish seemed to stop rising, but Brian mentioned that there were a few still rising along the opposite bank. So I moved a bit upstream – leapfrogging Brian – and taking a position that one of the other guys vacated. The cast was difficult because it required about a 15 yard cast with swirling wind. But I was able to get a few nice casts and drifts in to entice a 14” brownie into hitting the Parachute BWO.
It was now about 3:30p and as the action died down I moved back up to Ray’s Run. There were fish feeding very selectively just under the surface. I’m pretty sure they were feeding selectively on spent BWOs – as I had several dead drifts to them with my Parachute BWO, Sparkle Dun BWO (which I replaced the Cripple with) and the Barr Emerger trailing – and had no takers.
Yep it was a challenging day. Brian had the 15” brownie and I had the 3 brownies and 3 rainbows. And we had to work very hard for them!
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