axle27
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First, I apologize for not posting this earlier. I was trying, unsuccessfully, to down load some pics from my son's camera. I took his because it's a hand-me-down and if it got lost...well, you get the idea.
Friday afternoon:
It was brutal. Wind was gusting to 45-50mph. It had been raining in the region and the river was way, WAY up. It was also moving very fast. I was afraid to wade in any deeper than just below my waist as the water was moving really fast and the wind almost dunked me a few times. This is even with a wading staff. However, it was clear, not muddy. I used my Imperial 5wt. I tried dries, nymphs, wets, streamers, everything to no avail.
Saturday:
Wind was still gusting. River levels had dropped a bit. Water was still swift. Managed to catch one, dumb rainbow (about 10") on a Royal Wulff dry. The silly part was he hit only 7-8ft away as I was drawing line out for my initial cast. The owners privately stock this area and they stocked that day, only about 40 yards upstream. By the evening, the winds had died down considerably. Fishing with dries was almost impossible in most places. Where dries would have been good, it was just too swift to get close enough to present it. I can cast decently, but the distance from where it was safe to wade would have made it a 70ft. cast. And there's not much area behind ya to get that much line out on a backcast. I used my Quarrow 5wt.
Sunday morning:
No wind. Water temp was about 43 degrees. River level had dropped off about a foot, flow had slowed some. Again with the Imperial, I worked upstream about 1/2 mile, but nothing hit. Didn't notice too many surface takes. The guy who owns the place caught a few.
In closing, I learned a few things:
1- As much as I hate to admit it, I like casting the Quarrow better than the older model Imperial. A bit of a slower action.
2- This was my first time out with furled leaders....I will never go back.
If I manage to get the pics from that camera, I'll post them. It was beautiful.
Friday afternoon:
It was brutal. Wind was gusting to 45-50mph. It had been raining in the region and the river was way, WAY up. It was also moving very fast. I was afraid to wade in any deeper than just below my waist as the water was moving really fast and the wind almost dunked me a few times. This is even with a wading staff. However, it was clear, not muddy. I used my Imperial 5wt. I tried dries, nymphs, wets, streamers, everything to no avail.
Saturday:
Wind was still gusting. River levels had dropped a bit. Water was still swift. Managed to catch one, dumb rainbow (about 10") on a Royal Wulff dry. The silly part was he hit only 7-8ft away as I was drawing line out for my initial cast. The owners privately stock this area and they stocked that day, only about 40 yards upstream. By the evening, the winds had died down considerably. Fishing with dries was almost impossible in most places. Where dries would have been good, it was just too swift to get close enough to present it. I can cast decently, but the distance from where it was safe to wade would have made it a 70ft. cast. And there's not much area behind ya to get that much line out on a backcast. I used my Quarrow 5wt.
Sunday morning:
No wind. Water temp was about 43 degrees. River level had dropped off about a foot, flow had slowed some. Again with the Imperial, I worked upstream about 1/2 mile, but nothing hit. Didn't notice too many surface takes. The guy who owns the place caught a few.
In closing, I learned a few things:
1- As much as I hate to admit it, I like casting the Quarrow better than the older model Imperial. A bit of a slower action.
2- This was my first time out with furled leaders....I will never go back.
If I manage to get the pics from that camera, I'll post them. It was beautiful.
