Immediately after work at 5 last night, I threw everything into the truck and zoomed out to the Stanislaus River. This was recommended by my friend and owner of the local fly shop, Bob, as a good place to go that is relatively close (about a 45 minute drive). My wife and I had gone last week to look - there were three places Bob recommended - so I knew where I wanted to go. A nice stretch about 200 yds. long with a good inflow, a nice run along a gravel bar and then a pool after. Oh, it's C&R only.
I got there around 6:15 - only person there. Just beautiful. So calm and quiet except for the rushing of the river. It was gorgeous. I had tied up a few Souhegan Hoppers (thank you FAOL) the night before and started with one of them. The fish liked it. I had several rises but could not hook one. I guess my reflexes were just too slow. Also, I need more practice in strong flowing rivers. To get a drag free float I was probably giving too much slack and couldn't pull it out fast enough for these trout. Very much fun though. I just felt blessed that I could be on the water and enjoy the time. Of course it was a little frustrating not hooking one, but really not very much. After a while, the fish started rising regularly. I couldn't see very well what they were rising to - tried several different flies. Finally scooped one up - it looked like a small (size 18) grayish mayfly. (Next time I will bring the net/screen I made but forgot to bring this time.) I didn't have a match for the dun but had one small gray emerger pattern. That seemed to work. I got several more rises but again, could not strike quick enough (I'm guessing) to hook one. As evening progressed, there were some larger fish rising. At least, I think they were larger based on the much larger rises. I could see several feeding (probably on nymphs) also on the gravel bar. I scooped up one more of the mayflies and kept it in a sample bottle. I will try to identify it tonight and tie up something to try next time. Hopefully my skill in following the drift will increase with more practice. Have a great day all - I know I did last night. Jim Collins
