This past week has been fantastic. The caddis have kept the fish looking up and the snow has been coming out of the hills slowly, keeping the water from getting too colored up. Today the river has taken the bump. The water came up considerably with the constant snow and rain over the past 3 days. The yellow streamers have become the fly of choice over the caddis, due to cold temps and a rising river. I had a chance to take my wife, Lia, out for an afternoon last week and we caught the caddis hatch dead nuts. We fished dries all day and landed quite a few fish. The olive and tan caddis were the best, size 16 and 18.
When the water rises many people think that the fishing is going to be slow. Despite the fact that fish do not like rising water in general, and the visibility is low, there are still a few factors working in the fisherman’s favor. One of these is that the fish are going to be concentrated in areas where they can hold. When the river is this big fish have to move in closer to the banks in order to conserve energy and locate food. For us that means that we need to pound the banks and the pocket water with streamers. The other factor to consider is that the rising water is making more of the bank accessible to fish. The fresh dirt is filled with larva and worms, making nymphing with large stones and dirt snakes a great way to produce fish in the dark water.
Here are a few of the fish that Lia and I caught on our day off, enjoy!
Craig
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