| I was pleasantly surprised with what I found on the river from Thursday evening to Saturday evening, and was constantly reminded of what a great place this is.
Friday evening, fishing Rainbow Alley, I lost a monster rainbow that came to a Royal Wulff, on the first cast of the night. That was my only fish of the evening, as I arrived somewhat late, and had only a short time in the water. By the time I had stopped shaking enough to tie on a new fly that was broken off by the elusive fish, it was beginning to get dark. I can’t count the number of times that has happened to me at that very spot. There are some huge fish in that hole, and before dark, they like dry flies. A lot. My problem is that when they take them, the fish are immediately in the current, and or dive to the bottom and wrap around something on the bottom, and snap. I found myself muttering, not again, over and over as I tied on another fly. Too late though, no more fish for the evening. But what a fish it was.
The next morning the river was clouded by t-storms that hit in the late afternoon/early evening upstream. I trudged back to rainbow alley for a second chance. Nothing doing there. Too much current, and water that looked like tea. I was ready to head back to the cabin at about 7:30 when the trico hatch started coming off. As I watched it happen I took a look upstream toward the McKee Bridge, just above Rainbow Alley, and saw some rings. The water was very cloudy in this section, so bad that you couldn’t see your feet. But the fish were rising to the tricos and continued to do so until about 9:00. I took no fish during the hatch, but had a blast trying. I didn’t have a fly that matched what was coming off,( I thought that this was a blue winged olive hatch at the time) and frankly, was quite surprised by the fact the fish on this river were actively sipping bugs for about an hour and a half. I think that it had everything to do with the cloudy water lowering the inhibitions of the fish. But they were big, and rising, and it was rare, great fun to cast to them, in the slow water. What a morning.
Once the river began to clear, the fish continued to take bugs off of the surface, presumably caddis flies. I managed a couple of fish throughout the remainder of the day, on an elk hair caddis, and a stimulator. But the amazing thing to me was that I didn’t need my weights, or nymphs at all. All dry fly fishing, all day. It was also cloudy, and relatively cool, which I think was the key. Now, perhaps my success rate would have been considerably better with the weighted bugs, but I can’t resist a dry fly experience, especially on this river.
The next day brought clearing water, another trico hatch in the morning, but no activity on the surface. It was the beginning of a bright and sunny day. I could see my feet in the slow water that I had been in the day before, and the fish could see me. I managed to catch a few fish throughout the day on a flashback pheasant tail, caddis emerger, and bead head prince nymph. Not as much dry activity during the day, but a large canoe hatch and hot weather could have been responsible. It was a great day to be on the water. I had the privilege of fishing with a fellow angler who used hair from his cat to tie a fly that had actually been productive for him in the past. It’s called the Miz T. Another first on the North Fork.
I ended my trip with a 16 inch brown in front of Pescadore point on a #12 stimulator, about a half hour before dark. I had immediate company, as some young anglers watched the struggle from the shore, and wanted some of the action. I tied on a stimulator for each of them, and surrendered the spot. This is a great place for evening fishing, and a dead upstream drift during this time period with a large dry fly has almost always been productive for me. It was a great moment for me, undoubtedly the nicest fish I’ve ever caught at the ROLF on a dry fly. I was lucky enough to have a weekend resident at the
Eagle’s nest, Kent, of Leavenworth Ks, capture the event on his digital camera, which he was kind enough to send to me. That is another great thing about this place. I always meet the nicest people. It was a great way to end the trip, as I planned to head home in the morning.
I agree with all of the previous reports. You have to think about the quality of the fishing here. I have had times when I have caught fish, after fish, after fish. And then I have had times like this weekend, where the numbers aren’t up, but the quality of fish is incredible. There are always big, strong, healthy, and wild fish here, that keep me coming back. Each time, it’s a different type of adventure, and it’s what you make of it. A lot like life I guess. |
