The weather this past week has been unusual to say the least. We usually don't associate cloudless sunny days in the mid 70's with Steelheading. But it is March and the fish are in, busy making reds and spawning. Sunday morning Adam, Anthony and I hit the river ( I was running late as usual) and fished until the evening. Swinging flies all day long, only stopping for lunch, we only managed to hook into one. Sadly, we ended the day with no fish to hand. We all fished different styles, colors, and depths of the water column. In the photo of our rigs you see Airflo Scandi, Delta, and Skagit lines. Classic flies, bunny leeches, tubes, and other bright colored creatures failed to produce.
We bumped into David from ChicagoTroutBum and friend Niall, who also turned up skunked.
Water conditions were just about prime. The stain was good, but turbid, with the water still a little high and dirty. Runoff is more prevalent to the north, where standing water is still found along the riverbanks.
Adam and I both commented to each other about the fact that last week it was fishing in snow storms and freezing temps, and now this week water temps are already climbing into the upper 40's.
Rain is in the forecast, as well as some cooler temps. (still unseasonably warm) The rain should bring in more fish, and the run should be working into it's prime. Dropback fish will be hungry, looking to pack in calories as they work their way back to the big pond. High water and warm conditions in spring are a great time to try out larger presentations to entice competitive males and those hungry dropback hens. I know you will surly find me on the water, trying to beat the skunks out of my waders. Getting Skunked sucks.
Catch em if you can!
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