In the afternoon, a massive caddis hatch started, and the fish looked up. If anything, it was too big of a hatch, as it's hard for your fly to stand out when there are a dozen real caddis floating through a pool at the same time...


(And I know see at least two caddis that I didn't get circled)

The fish of the day was a nice, fat, 17" rainbow that took probably the best cast I've ever had to make to hook a fish. There's a rock wall that runs along the river's edge at one point, and the last foot or so above the water is undercut and covered in moss and vines. I saw this fish rising to caddis that were falling right against the edge of the rocks. The fish never took a caddis more than 3" off the edge. And because of a tree behind me, I had to make a backhanded cast under the overhang, without hitting the wall (or I'd get caught in the moss/branches), within 3" of the wall. I did. He rose. And it was beautiful. (I'm not saying I could do it again - at least not on a consistent basis, but it was a beautiful thing when it happened).





And I leave you with this...