As I hung up the receiver I knew that on the river early was not to be but I was still determined to get some "river time" regardless. As it would turn out I wouldn't get out of the workplace until past mid-morning and by then Miss Carol has made alternate plans which including a shopping trip. Therefore... to the river alone I go.
The weather was rather cool this morning being thirty-five upon leaving the bunkhouse with a slight wind. But between my prairie home and the river's edge the wind had picked up significantly. Guess those damn wind gods saw me coming and decided to give me a most unwelcoming welcome. Butthole wind gods!
The two reasons I wanted to see Blue today was because of all the varying reports as to the condition of the river, with the second reason being I simply wanted to fling some fur and feather.
On the road to the river I met this friendly chap and he had a colleague that looked like his twin. The both of them were wet and evidently they had been to the river also for a look-see.
Once I saw the river today I was quite surprised at the good condition she was in. For sure the river is off-colored but I would say there is a good twelve inches or more of visibility and the off-coloring is not a case of murky water but rather green stained water.
What surprised me most was the volume and flow of the river. Going by some benchmark rocks in the river I would say the level is up a good six inches and perhaps more. The flow today was quite healthy but not to the point that one cannot wade. However, with the increase flow and the stain... wading can be tricky at best currently.
The river is not off so far that the bows can't see the offerings as evidence by this fat bow. This first bow caught today is one of the brightest and thickest bows I have battled this season. She was simply fat, shaped more like a football than a trout and would have easily pushed two pounds.
I was fishing a ten foot leader today... a nymphing leader if you will and I had a bugger tied on so I simply nymphed the bugger free-line style without an indicator. I knew very well that I should add split, with the increase flow, but didn't out of laziness but still managed bows.
My time would be short on the river today with the workplace on my mind so I headed back to that dungeon to do my duty. I'm glad I made the trip today because opportunities ahead look iffy.
Be advised that rain is predicted for tomorrow - Sunday, and then on Monday rain turning to snow with another chance of snow on Thursday. Some parts of the prairie ocean are near record yearly amounts of snow with that being around twenty-four inches. That's a lot of snow on the prairie ocean but snow is a vitally good thing for spring fed rivers like Blue. Look for Blue to be healthy for some time to come.
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