... aka FEB Salmonfly aka JC's Salmonfly aka FAOL FOTW for 6-7-2010.

Mid-November on a northern Idaho freestone river, temps in the low 40's with low cloud cover, with the river surging from recent rainstorms and blowing up by a factor of almost 7 in a couple days before dropping this morning about 1000 CFS at the nearest streamflow gauge. All kinds of crap washed down into the river causing the worst color and lowest visibility in ages.

Not to be outdone by the really nasty conditions, JC's namesake fly, pointless though it may be sometimes, managed to bring somewhere around 15 trouts up for a bite in the first place it played tag this morning, and another couple fishies in the next two places it did its thing.

Time flies when you're having fun, and this tie has been flying and having fun nine months a year for twelve years now.

The basic concept of the FEB pattern has emerged into a whole bunch of big flies that have worked really well across the seasons and across state lines, even across the Canadian border, come to think of it.

Might be worth some time to check it out, learn to tie it, and fish it. ( Most of the other FEB flies are also in the FAOL FOTW Archives. )

John

P.S. On three days earlier this month, this fly fished even better, but the conditions on those days bordered on perfect, if there is such a thing in fly angling.