A Thin Blue Line

Had a few hours between painting and yard work so I figured I’d see how the patch job on the waders worked and test drive a few new patterns; 30 minutes up the road and I was in business

Usually I cross the creek back and forth to maneuver around all the downed timber and rock ledges but although it may be tiny, it was still swift and deep enough from the tail end of runoff to limit my options (5th knee surgery took the last of the meniscus and ability to challenge heavy water). Still, there were some nice spots to be had

smaller and less numerous than the trilliums I saw in April, but just as pretty

A little slow at first but the fish started looking up

lower down it’s spruce and pine (flushed a mama spruce grouse and chick), further up it transitions to cedar, and they lean in over the water to provide some nice shade

cutts were a bit bigger, too

itch was scratched and the patch job held so, for at least a few hours, all was right with the world. High water put the new fly testing on hold; foam was the name of the game

a pair of Carnage variations

Kolzer Firefly; the dark moose body hair wing stood out very well in all the foam, helped me pick out a few strikes I might have missed in the suds

Regards,
Scott