The mid-October sky was gun metal gray with scudding dark clouds hiding the surrounding mountain peaks already white with the first snows of the approaching winter. The gusting winds sent leaves cascading from the cottonwoods along the river bottoms;

G.E.M Skues was born on August 13th, 1858 and pasted away on August 9th, 1949 just four days shy of his ninety first birthday. Skues is acknowledged as the “Father of Nymph Fishing”, however Skues was much more than that and his writings have influenced many of the 20th Centuries finest angling authors on both sides of the Atlantic.

I decided that I would go to the pond near the University. This way I could fish from the canoe and I have seen a lot of fish rising in this pond as I passed by on my way to and from home. I took a 3 weight and a 6 weight rod with me since this would allow me to fish most of the water column. I got out on the pond at about 6 am so that I could fish before it hot really hot.

Approaching the stream, it was apparent much had changed. Having not visited this particular water since a substantial flooding storm a few months earlier I hadn’t thought much on how much things may have been impacted.

Except for fly tying no other aspect of fly fishing has generated more ink on the printed page than the act of fly casting.