Finally did some fishing in '06
Whew! Well, after almost three months without fishing I finally got my 2006 license and was able to sneak away for a couple of hours at the Fall River. I had a new emerger pattern that I had wanted to try and I figured the Fall was my closest good bet for some dry fly action. I arrived at the hatchery just after noon and was happy to see I was the only one there. The air was cold, but not unbearable considering the sunshine. I started walking the banks and was disappointed to find no fish holding in any of the pools. I walked up to the flats section above the spillway to scope it out and at least make sure I remembered how to cast. I spent about 20 minutes up there half heartedly nymphing, then headed back downstream to the main hatchery water.
I got to my favorite hole in the hatchery, entered the water, and sat against a stump to watch the water for a few minutes. There were still no bugs visible on the water, but a few fish were holding in the pool. I was cutting my nymph setup off of the tippet when I heard the first rise. Watching the water I saw a few more rises, but still no bugs. I tied on one of my new emergers in a size 20, greased it up, and continued watching the water. Finally I stood up and started casting. Within just a few casts I hooked and landed a nice energetic rainbow. Wow that felt good. A few casts later I was picking my fly up off the water to present it again and, fish on! I landed the fish and realized that unfortunately it was foul hooked. Evidently it must have been rising to something else near my fly and I snagged it picking the fly up. That was the first trout I have ever foul hooked. Hopefully there won?t be many more. A cast or two later I hooked another rainbow, maybe 12 inches or so, (fair hooked this time) and knelt down to release the hook. I set the fish back in the water downstream of me intent on watching him swim away. He must have liked me because he didn?t seem ready to leave. He swam back upstream to me and circled my foot a couple of times, and then he swam up a little farther and sat by a rock just a foot or so away. He didn?t finally leave until I stood up. Anyway, I took one more fish out of that hole on the same fly then moved farther downstream.
By this time there were several different mayflies coming off in sizes ranging from maybe about 16 down to 20 or 22. There were also a few caddis fluttering about, but the fish seemed to be ignoring them. The fish in this pool seemed to be focusing on larger duns so I tied on a size 18 parachute. I got a few strikes, but no solid hookups. While I was changing flies another angler walked up and asked me for a light. While I was finishing up my knot and digging out my lighter we got to talking a little bit. I showed him the emerger I?d been fishing earlier, and gave him two of them to try out. He moved to the next hole upstream and it wasn?t long before he?d hooked a small brown. He released the fish and within a few casts had another. I asked him what he?d caught them on and he said he was using my fly. I?d say the new pattern is a keeper! It was time for me to head back toward home and pick the kids up from school. I didn?t land anymore fish after those first four but the weather was beautiful, the bugs were out, and the trout were rising. Overall it was a fantastic afternoon.
Jeremy
