May 8, 2011
Flow: 113 CFS
Water Temp: 47 Degrees
Clarity: Gin Clear

Today was a typical day at Deckers.  The flows are perfect and the river is looking great.  Matt and myself fished the upper river, from bridge to bend pool.  We arrived early, rigged up and ready to fish at 6am.  Right off the bat the fish were active and we hooked a few smaller fish.  A size #18 Pheasant Tail and a San Juan Worm were doing the trick, what I always default to on a normal day.  A huge midge hatch began at about 9, only problem was they were size #32’s.  I threw everything in my box, as small as #26 Black Beauty and fooled a couple.

As the day progressed, the fish became more active and the bugs increased in size.  A few fish began to rise and eat midge emergers.  Other large bugs began to show up around 10am.  We saw some caddis and a few BWO’s, but the fish are not really looking for them yet.  All the fish that we hook, we saw.  Sight fishing in these low, clear flows is a must.  We needed to get the fly right in the lane of the fish, in order to get him to eat.  I was surprised at the number of medium sized fish we saw today, which is a good sign.  We saw good numbers of 10-15″ fish, and were a lot of fun on a 4 weight.

Crowds were not existent.  I guess that makes sense, due to it being Mothers Day.  We didn’t see an angler from Trumbull to bend pool, which is really rare!  Too bad we only had a couple hours to spend there, I would have loved to have had the entire river to myself all day.

Towards the end of our morning, I started rolling rocks to see what the bug situation was.  An was shocked to find a ton of drake nymphs.  BIG, like size 12-14.  I have never seen these before in such strong numbers.   Hopefully they will materialize into giant dries this summer.  My guide and I saw a few flying last year, maybe this year with be better.

-James