Weather: Sunny
Water: Clear, 48 F on Sat.
Hatches: Blue Wing Olives (BWO)
Time: 12:00-2:00
Comments: Had my first outing of the year and it wasn't bad!
SATURDAY MAR. 20TH:
I got to Mt. Vernon Cr. around 9:30. Not much activity on the water. Around 11:00 the fish seemed to get motivated. The sun was bright in a clear sky and there wasn't much wind which made conditions ideal. Air temp was right around 50F which was pleasant. Water temp around noon was at 48F. Caught 5-6 fish on Beadhead Hare's Ear -- size 18-20. Lost 3-4 as well. Would drift weighted nymph along undercut banks (right under the railroad ties where possible). First fish I had on (and lost) took me by surprise because things had been so slow to that point and I thought I had a snag. He ended up getting off after a short battle....got caught up on a stick and was able to spit the barbless hook. Fish looked/felt to be around 13-14". I then caught a beautiful 12-13" Brown immediately following from the same bend. Pretty lean, but extremely colorful. The balance of the Browns caught the rest of the day were in the 8-10" range. There was a pretty good BWO hatch that started coming off ar! ound 12:30. At times there were good numbers of BWOs on the water...a little larger than I would have expected (16-18). The fish just didn't seem interested...saw an occasional rise, but I never switched from nymphs. Tried to fish Scuds (pink and green) which I have had success with in the past but didn't get one strike. Ended up leaving the stream around 3:30 because things really slowed down.
SUNDAY MAR. 21ST:
Much more wind and cooler. No luck at all with Nymphs. BWO hatch was even stronger but wasn't attracting any size. Decided to stay entertained and caught 4-5 very small fish on BWOs (size 18-20). First Dry fly fishing of the year! Hatch started again around 11:30-12:00 and ended around 2:00. I left stream at 3:00.
Overall, great weekend to be out.
Denis
Denis Underwood denis@buyersutopia.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------