Ben, once again a stellar report. Looks way too fun, although I don’t think there is such a thing as too much fun! 
Keep 'em coming, brother and thanks for giving me my fix once again. 
Kelly.
I managed to sneak away for a few minutes again yesterday. It was a short but sweet outing but I had to enjoy a little of the 65 degree day although the wind was blowing pretty good. Of course the next day it is snowing here but anyway I did catch a couple fish. Both on the small side and not much worth breaking the camera out. However I did manage to fool the first fish of the season for me on a Skwala. Yep February 15th and this little guy mashed a skwala.
I really wasn’t expecting anything to grab the skwala. I was fishing it as my indicator fly in a hopper dropper set up with a midge pupa trailing off the back as I prospected some pocketwater. Nothing had been showing on the surface and with limited time I figured this was my best option for quick set up expecting most if any action to come on the midge pattern. It was a nice suprise though and in checking my journal notes from last year noticed it was February 17th when I caught my first fish of the season on a skwala pattern.
It is probably still a little early around here for Skwalas to be be a go to fly but it won’t be long now and more and more of these fish will be keyed in on them. Just a little reminder of the fun that is ahead.
I finally was able to sneak out this afternoon and spend some time on the river. We had a pretty good March snow storm here this morning but the afternoon warmed up to 50 degrees and when I arrived at the river I found fish rising in their usual locations. The first thing I noticed was the blanket of midges on the water and I assumed that the fish were up on those. I chose to completely switch things up and go with a Skwala adult with a emerging midge as a dropper hoping to get the best of both worlds. The takes on the midge were light and although I had many takes I could not get the point of the hook to hold. Then I had a couple fish half heartedly nose the Skwala pattern. It is still a tad early but the fish are starting to get warmed up and ready for them to pop any day now.
Then all of a sudden these guys started popping up all over the little slick I was fishing:
The first significant BWO hatch I have been on the river during of the year. As quick as I could I switched over to a BWO Sparkle Dun and it didn’t take long to start getting into fish. The size of the fish was not impressive but they provided plenty of fun on my little three weight and I landed several footlong guys that looked a lot like this:
The hatch continued but I failed to find where the big guys were feeding. Still was a fun little outing catching some of the future hawgs of the river.
It really shows how those little guys can stand up on the surface of the water. I’m guessing from the look of the tails that this one just emerged.
John
Ben, good to see you getting out again. You continue to feed my addiction, and I appreciate it! Good read on the water, sir. Keep 'em coming.
Kelly.
John,
Yeah this one was having trouble with it’s tails for sure. I am thinking they may have gotten damaged a bit in the emerging process as he sat in a little eddy at my feet for a good 10 minutes trying to take off and as far as I know never made it. The tails never lost their droop.
Kelly,
It won’t be long and you can stop salivating over other peoples reports and start making the rest of us drool over the great fish you put in the net. Hope things are still trucking along for you in the rehab and your fly box is probably just about stocked up for the next 10 years now, right? 
Ben
Rehab is slowly happening, and fly boxes are busting at the seams :mrgreen:
Kelly.
I went to the river hoping Skwalas would be on the menu but instead found the BWO’s to be absolutely cracking today. It was one of those perfect overcast days and the hatch was on. Fish were rising from early afternoon to dusk. For the first time in a month or so I really felt like I was able to find a groove. Stalk a single fish, put the cast in it’s feeding lane and it was almost automatic. One of those perfect days. Again the size of the fish was a bit down from where I usually see on this river but still a lot of fun. I did catch one 21 incher that I had to fight just long enough I decided it didn’t need the extra trauma of getting it’s picture taken.
I didn’t take very many pictures but here are a couple from the day:
… combination - browns and BWO’s. Of course, browns and skwalas go together just dandy, too.
John
This week should be renamed BWO Week. Those little Baetis have been coming off in large numbers with conditions just about perfect. The last two days have been dreary, rainy, low on wind, and between 40 and 50 degrees. In other words BWO weather, and they have obliged.
With rain pouring down as I left the office I was lucky both days that by the time I arrived at the river it had at least slowed to a drizzle. The river was littered with the little olive sailboats and the fish were not ignoring them. I fished my standard hour each day and landed at least 6 fish each day. Honestly I did not keep track but when fish are rising everywhere and the action is fast and furious who has time to count? None were the monster slabs I have caught a lot of here but all were nice healthy fish in the 14-16 inch range that put a nice bend in the rod.
Finally as I was leaving the river this afternoon I noticed a nice rise across the calm flat next to a small rock. I flipped my BWO Sparkle Dun into the area and was almost instantly rewarded with a slurp. It wasn’t a monster but was a slender 19 inch brown that despite being a bit on the skinny side was very healthy and pulled hard.
Ahh the joys of the king of the Spring…the Blue Wing Olive.
As I got out of the river this stretch right next to where I was parked came alive with a huge pod of rising fish. I was tempted to stay another hour, but lunch break was over, and Expense reports and P&L’s were calling my name.
This picture does not show how many fish there were rising in this little flat as I snapped it fairly hastily as I was leaving so you will just have to trust there were a lot of fish here.
“As I got out of the river this stretch right next to where I was parked came alive with a huge pod of rising fish. I was tempted to stay another hour, but lunch break was over, and Expense reports and P&L’s were calling my name.”
That’s what the wee hours after the family goes to bed are for!!! Keep fishing man.
Rich
Wow Ben! Looks like it’s good over there. We’ll be prepared and maybe catch you on the water??? I’ll be playing hooky on Friday, to try and get some of that action!
True Rich, except those wee hours are usually the hours I spend tying flies to keep stocked up so I can get a few hours a week out on the river. The nice thing about being so close is I know I will be back soon. Makes it just a touch easier to step away even when the fish are rising.
You think you will get another trip in up this way this summer Rich?
Hope all is well.
Yep it is very good right now. If you think you will be on the water early afternoon on Friday I may be able to sneak away for a bit and meet you. We will see how the work schedule is looking. The forecast for Saturday looks like you could have a great day.
We’re shooting for the first week of October right now Ben. I’ll get there if i have to walk!!!
All is well here except for the lack of time on the water. Thank you for asking. April 2nd will be my first time this year. Planning on a 5 day trip for some lake Cutts and and a stream brown or three.
Keep us in the loop even if you are making me jealous.
Rich
I’ll be over there around 1 or 2 tomorrow were leaving at 6:15 with a quick stop in Burns then strait up to below the dam to set up camp. Playing hooky is soooo fun!
Nice! Glad you had a good trip.
When you describe the perfect BWO day it looks about like today did when I looked out the window of my office. So you can imagine the itch that developed through the morning and by early afternoon it was too much. I was off to the river. Well what had been a light on and off again drizzle at the office was a pretty steady and hard pounding rain out on the river and that kind of kept the bugs from coming off too strong. I was a bit disappointed that it looked like the river wasn’t going to live up to the promise I was sure it held all morning. The rises were few and far between and the rain continued to pound the otherwise calm surface. I flung a para adams with a midge dropper around the run and finally timed one periodic riser up right and a nice little 16 inch brown blasted the adams. After this the rain relaxed a bit and the bugs and the fish really turned on. I switched over to a Sparkle Dun pattern I have good success with in BWO hatches but found I had jumped the gun a bit. The hatch was just starting and the fish were still keying on the earlier stage emergers. I did have a few slurps on the Sparkle Dun but each time the hook pulled free on the hookset. Realizing I needed a change I tied on a BWO emerger pattern I have been working on perfecting thinking this would be a good time to test it and the results came fast and furious.
The first cast into the head of a foamy seam was met with an aggressive take. The fly had been on the water barely a second when the brown jumped all over it. Another 16 inch fish came to hand quickly and I worked at drying out the CDC bubble I use on this pattern.
I worked the bottom part of the seam a bit and after a few casts I hooked one of those slow wobblers. Those fish that seem to come from the depths, emerging slowly to nonchalantly slurp your fly. This was a better fish and ended up going a full 21".
I was about to call it a day and head back to work when I looked just upstream and noticed a big dark nose poking out over and over again in a tiny pocket tight against the bank. It would be a tough lie but I could tell by the nose this was a nice fish and worth a shot.
He looked to be feeding on duns as the current had pushed hundreds of the little fluttering BWO’s into this pocket as they waited patiently for their wings to dry and hoped it happened before the big dark snout found them. The fish was feeding 8-10 times in a 15 second span then taking a break for a few seconds and then went right back to slurping. I didn’t want to take the time before heading back to work to tie on a dun pattern so I decided to see if the emerger would entice him. It took a few casts to get the timing right and to get the fly in his wheelhouse, but when it all came together, true to form, the big nose rose over that little speck on the water and the fight was on.
It turned out to be another nice bruiser about as long as the previous fish but much heavier. A truly good way to end another lunch break.
As much as I’m enjoying the kind of fishing that’s available up here this time of year, your reports really make me hanker for some BWO and midge hatches to work around.
And it’s interesting that you get to fish those hatches to brown trouts. Very seldom had that experience down in SE Idaho - it was usually bows and brookies over there. The browns were more a nymph and / or streamer affair.
John