Quote Originally Posted by JohnScott View Post

So ... if I do buy a license next year, it will be so I can continue my thirteen year experience on this river and monitor its continued decline, or recovery if that, indeed, is what happens. Hope springs eternal, but reality always sets in, one way or the other.

John
... whether getting an annual license for this year will result in further observing the decline of this fishery, or note its improvement and potential recovery.

So far, the early returns are at least positive and somewhat encouraging. The past week or so there has been some hatch activity, one day last week a strong hatch with quite a few rising fish and the past couple days just moderate hatch activity with no fish up. March browns and maybe some drakes. At least this is a start.

The fishing has been somewhat inconsistent, but there have been several relatively good days. A couple days with something north of fifteen fishies willing to play, mostly on an FEB Salmonfly, and a couple days with almost thirty fishies in the game. So the numbers are reasonably good for the amount of time on the water, roughly three to three and a half hours each day, and the weather and streamflow conditions on any given day.

Also, the quality of the fishies willing to play is noticeably improved compared to the past few years. Considerably more larger fish. Yesterday, for example, I had one pushing 19" followed shortly by one over 17". And a couple fish I turned playing tag looked to be in the upper teens as well. It has been a long time since I've seen fish like that on this crick.

One of the really interesting things yesterday was one spot ( out of the six where I mostly played tag ) that has never fished well before runoff. Even getting a single fish there was much less likely than getting skunked. Yesterday there were eight fishies willing to play. I almost didn't bother stopping there, and ended up with the biggest surprise of the day.

So the early returns on my investment in a license are pretty favorable. But .... time will tell. I'll know in a matter of months if the fishery has turned the corner and is on the road to recovery or in continued decline. Either way, it is a worthwhile investment of time and expense.

John