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After months of temp shaming, now we have to flow shame? Luckily, there is some moisture moving through the atmosphere and maybe some will fall in the form of rain this week. The needle is starting to move a bit, but man, we need some soakers to get levels back to average for this time of year. My boots have never been drier and I am afraid they’ll start to get brittle. Just to get them a drink and see what was happening, I headed out before opening the shop. I didn’t catch any fish, but saw the next best thing: lots of tiny little bugs.
If you were out in the predawn, misty mornings this past week you may have seen the midge populations’ immediate reaction to the rains. The predawn hatch was so thick midweek while driving along the stream in Pottersville I actually stopped to see what they were. The easy trick to identifying a trico from a BWO is to count the tails. TRI - as in three tails, is where the trico gets its name while a BWO has two tails and an additional wing behind the forewing. Trico patterns sold in shops tend to be black, but the naturals can be gray or olive, too. Being wet, the bugs I could pull off the headlight were too delicate and smooshed to start counting tails, but I could see they were more olive than black.
Saturday morning around 8:45, I could see trout tails breaking surface as they were likely eating the emerging midges from the bridge in Califon. Fly anglers have our work cut out for us in these conditions; small flies and skinny water compounded with a greater need for a stealthy approach to avoid spooking fish already wary of more exposure to bird strikes from above. 6x or 7x tippet may be in order as well, especially if consistently rising fish are ignoring your drifts.
Chances are many of the rocks now have at least one resident lurking underneath as reduced flows leave trout more vulnerable and exposed. They cannot hang out in a run with two and a half feet of water over their heads keeping them safe from all but the most audacious ospreys. Drifting midges and nymphs as well as sculpins and streamers around the base of boulders may entice some quick strikes from the already skittish fish. Logs, undercut banks, and plunge pools offer cover and cuisine in times like these so move quietly and carefully as you prepare to cast. The good news is, conditions like these won’t last and soon we will have rivers full of water and leaves! The advent of autumn precedes an additional stocking of trout to our own waters the second week of October and we’ll be back up and dry fly fishing…eventually.
Now is a great time for a sojourn to Pulaski or Steelhead Alley. We have the salmon flies and other supplies you’ll need to get you on the water without fighting the crowds (at the shops, at least) when you get there. October fishing for trout in the Catskills isn’t to be missed as the foliage adds colors to the already beautiful backdrop on the Beaverkill or branches of the Delaware.
Swing by the shop for your midges and Caddis patterns; check out the new bags from Patagonia and Fishpond, including submersible slings, backpacks, and hip packs. For those traveling out West, Patagonia has a great travel bag for the airplane that includes space for multiple rods, reels, and fly boxes. For the rest of us, it’s a waiting game.
I’ll see you out there.
Roy B.
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