Pssst... The Fish Are Biting!

I pulled a threesome today.  I know... it seems somewhat far-fetched that a close-to-sixty year old guy, with stiffening joints and loss of vigor could pull off such a stunt, but... ha-ha-ha, I did!

On the bend of the hare's ear a thirty inch string of Frog's Hair was tied on.  About halfway down the string, an in-line black thread midge was tied on.  Bringing up the rear was the red midge larvae in size 16, which was not the desired size.  The size 18's were absent from the boxes today and their whereabouts still remain a mystery, so the size 16 had to do.  The threesome was born - a threesome of tantalizing and teasing offerings to the trout.

Thursday evening, while sitting in the tying room, I kept thinking about this being the time of season to go to midge patterns.  Then on Friday, a report was received from an angler regarding his journey to the catch and release and good success with midges.  Midges were an easy choice today.  As both ambient and water temperatures fall, it's time to think lower, slower, and smaller. 

Each time I step out of the schooner at the parking area of the south wilderness, I listen to the voice of the river.  Normally, lady Blue's voice is loud, almost like a roar, but here of late her voice has faded and diminished - ever telling of low water flow. 

Standing in the drink, the in-line midge claimed the first bow of the day.  Shortly thereafter, the in-line midge would take the second bow.  Then, the red midge larvae would bring a trout to hand.  The hare's ear was feeling somewhat jaded at this point, but it wasn't long until the two midge patterns were captured by the clutches of an overhanging tree limb and were lost. 

Since the hare's ear wasn't gaining any favor from the trout, the bugger went on with another black thread midge trailing.  Four more trout were brought to hand with the bugger taking two and thread midge taking two.

Further upstream, the black thread midge was given a rest and a red flash midge with peacock hurl gills went into action and this pattern was the prize of the day. 

There is a fly-fisher on the river Blue these days that really excites me.  H.L. excites me because of his passion for this art we practice.  Even though we are years apart, it's amazing how much we think alike and just this week we were both thinking about midges.  Friday in the catch & release, H.L. was doing quite well with midge patterns before taking a swim, which sent him packing.  Now, I'm not going to let H.L.'s cat out of the bag, but he has some exciting projects planned.  He seems to be quite hep with media and has a couple of projects planned in that arena.  He also carries a wonderful stewardship of the environment and plans stream clean-up programs.  And, he also has some merchandising plans in store.  All of these projects H.L. has in the works will only go to further the art. 

At the Cove, I got stuck on trout number thirteen.  The action on the midges suddenly came to a halt.  So, not wanting to leave the river on an unlucky note, the trailer and indicator was ripped off leaving the bugger begging to be stripped.  And, so he was.  Four casts, two trout lost, two trout to hand.  The strip was slow, the fly was low - more evidence of the dropping water temperatures. 

Speaking of the water temperatures - they were quite cold.  After three hours in the river, I was numb from the knees down.  The numbness alone was enough for me to call it a day, but in addition my propensity for pilsner persuaded me that a cold beer would taste mighty fine.  I gave thanks, left the river, and headed to Scotty's for a couple of long-necks.

It was a good day.

The trout this season are fat and healthy.

Trout on in-line midge.

The colder the weather, the greener the lichen.