As winter begins to fade into spring I begin to dream of those warm, sunny days of late April and early May; just before the spring sun becomes strong enough to send the first rush of melting snow coursing downstream that marks the beginning of the annual runoff. Those days hold numerous fond memories that have been forged over many years during the halcyon days before the high cold water turns the local waterways into floodways filled with flotsam swept off the sandbars and scoured from the banks.

Malcolm Greenhalgh is an author, fly tier and fly fisher with an excellent international reputation and with this volume he continues his excellent work. Whenever I view a volume which claims to be an encyclopedia I automatically check out the bibliography which gives me an idea of the research involved in preparing the text.

History is not always as clear-cut as we would like it to be.  Such is the case with the pattern I present to you today.  This 'Seth Green' was created by Clarence Roberts, a famous Michigan tyer of the 1950s. 

As the story goes --- Clarence had a fishing buddy and fellow conservation office, with whom he worked, named Seth Green.  Presumably, the fly was named in his honor.  The Department of Natural Resources can not confirm the existence of a Conservation Officer of that name, and the family of Clarence Roberts has no recollection of Clarence having known anyone named Seth Green.

Since starting fly fishing over 20 years ago, I honestly feel that my fly fishing has improved due to observing others as they fish and the following are some of what I have observed and my thoughts:

I have noticed that there are many fly fishermen that only fish the fast water sections of a river. They fish the fast water and then get out of the river and walk the bank to the next fast water section. There are not many that want or enjoy fishing the slower and deeper pools between the fast water sections. That is fine for me because I enjoy fishing the pools and feel the larger fish will be holding there and have had good success fishing these deeper pools.

Fly fishing is a sport that is filled with tradition, in some places the traditions of opening day is the building of excitement and hours of preparing flies and tackles for that magical moment. In some places there is the tradition of the final day of the season where at the end of the day the angler must clean and store the tackle and begin to prepare for the opening day of next season while reliving the adventures of the season now consigned to the past.

There are attributes of my outdoor pursuits that tend to affect me more than others. They are those certain little things that continue to draw me in. It's the parts of the outdoors that one can only experience by actually "being" there. Such as the first early morning gobble of a Wild Turkey in response to the soft yelps of my slate call. It never fails to make my heart rate increase and the hair on my arms come to life.

Time of Aggression: Although streamers and nymphs can always produce trout, fall is the glorious time to target the largest trout of the year with your favorite "meaty" patterns. Lots of large brown trout swim into DePuy's from the Yellowstone River for spawning, followed by rainbow trout (they enter the creek to munch on eggs but also some of them stay in the creek till their own spawning time). Sight is amazing. Trout population is as thick as aquarium all along the creek.

I got a call from a landowner and he wanted me to come and fish two ponds. He was having to water cattle out of them and was afraid that the ponds will winter kill out. Since I had a day off it was a good time to go out and see what the ponds might have to offer.