The tide turned as I stood in the half frozen water. Miniature Icebergs drifted by and and I could not believe my eyes. The sea run browns were slurping flies of the surface as if it were a warm june evening. A fairly significant hatch was transpiring, so I did what only seemed logical. I tied on a dry fly. Yup, the good old Parachute Adams. I put it out in the zone and watched it drift down stream. Then, I saw the sight that we all love to see. A nice brown came up and slurped my fly off the surface. I set the hook and that was that. He was on my line. What a blast. Catching trout on the surface is surely the best way to get em. I love getting them any way I can, but there is certainly something great about getting them on the surface. I love watching the fly drift aimlessly downstream, watching the trout take the fly and the sound of the flyline peeling off the water when I set the hook. I never get tired of it. So anyway, as the tide came to the end of its cycle things slowed down on the surface. So, I went for them below the surface and got em down there too. It won’t come as a surprise when I tell you what I was using. Yup! Ye Old Olive Beed Head Wooly Bugger. Never fails. I fished it a little differently than normal due to the cold water temperatures. I casted the Wooly upstream and dead drifted it for about 3/4 of the drift. Then on the last 1/4 part of the drift I would strip it in with 2 inch strips. I think this was…a good tactic because it emulated some sort of emerger making its way from the bottom to the top. I picked up another nice brown while applying this technique. Then it starting getting dark and I could not feel my toes, so I called it quits. I must say, I never expected to be catching Sea Run Browns on dry flies this early in the season. A good part of the river is still covered with ice. I guess you never can tell. Here is a picture of the fish and bugs that were coming off the water. I don’t know what kind of bugs they are. Do you? If so let me know.
Book
- Alaska
- Guide & Fisherman
- Guiding: Choosing Your Guide And Choosing Your Customer
- Guiding: Do It Yourself With A Guide
- Guiding: Evolution Of A Guide
- Guiding: Freshwater, More Than Meets The Eye
- Guiding: Friends For Life
- Guiding: Know Where You Are
- Guiding: More Than Just A Fisherman
- Guiding: Mystery Of The Fisherman
- Guiding: Payment
- Guiding: Saltwater, A Different World
- Rough Fish
- Fly Fishing For Rough Fish: Why Do It?
- Introduced Rough Fish: The Carps & Other Invasive Species
- Methodology: Gear & Tactics For Pursuing Roughfish On A Fly
- More Roughfish: Bullheads, Whitefish, Goldeye, Burbot & Drum
- Rough Fish Environments: Where To Look For Rough Fish?
- Rough Fish Species: The Suckers
- Rough fish: A Lifetime Of Learning
- Rough Fish: Fishing For Dinosaurs (Gars & Bowfin)
- Rough Fish: What Are They?
- The Hook: Some Common Rough Fish Fly Patterns
- Spey
- Spey: Applications, Where Can You Do It?
- Spey: Atlantic Salmon, A Significant Fish
- Spey: Defined And Demystified
- Spey: Gear, The Nuts And Bolts
- Spey: Lines, They Are That Important
- Spey: Steelhead, New Traditions & A Modern Movement
- Spey: The Energy
- Spey: The Flies
- Spey: The Swing
- Spey: Two Critical Casts
- Striped Bass
- Striped Bass: Fishing Rocky Shorelines
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Beaches
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Flats
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Reefs
- Striped Bass: Fishing Tidal Rivers
- Striped Bass: Flatwing Swing
- Striped Bass: Fly Line Options & Choices
- Striped Bass: Gear, The Nuts & Bolts
- Striped Bass: Migration Patterns
- Striped Bass: What They Eat
- The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: A Natural Drug
- Fly Fishing: A Validation Of Freedom
- Fly Fishing: Don’t Fight The Current
- Fly Fishing: It Is What It Is
- Fly Fishing: Socialization For Asocial Individuals
- Fly Fishing: The Allure Of The Fish
- Fly Fishing: The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: The Simplicity Of It All
- Fly Fishing: Time Flies
- Fly Fishing: Times You Remember & Try To Forget
Congratulations, jer. That’s an Early Black Stonefly and you got over trout when the hatch was in progress. Tom Ames’ New England Hatch Guide is a good reference to carry. Indespensable Bug Bible.
marsh
black stone fly – great to know – thanks marsh. is the kennebec river doing anything up there?