Hello fellow flyfishers,
Chris, my buddy, and I met on the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River (MFS)
yesterday morning at sunrise. We were fishing the waters by 5:30 am. There
was not much action for the first couple of hours.
I was having one of those agonizing fishing experiences where I couldn't
tie a clinch knot for the life of me. And then once I got the knot tied, in
a cast or two, I was either hung up in a tree, the leader and fly would
tangle or I was snagging someone's monofilament spinner line left in the
water. Seemed 75% of the time I was messing with my gear and just 25%
actually fishing. Sheesh!
Well, the fishing did pick up once the morning (and I) got going. The MFS
is running at about 450 CCF, which is way down from the 30-year average.
But right now it does make for better wading in spots.
There were some Pale Morning Duns popping off and some caddis about, but I
saw only one riser.
I fished my #10 Easy Rider (ER)
(http://www.waflyfishers.com/pages/flyBody1.html) dryfly with a dropper
using an altered #12 Beadhead Zugbug (ZB). I altered the ZB by turning it
into a kind of Royal Coachman-type look. That is, instead of making the
body all of peacock herl, in the middle of the pattern, I inserted some
green metallic floss a friend had given me.
Both of these patterns worked quite well. Many cutthroats were taken on both.
I reached one nice deep fast water pool and caught 4 cutts in 4 casts. They
were about 8 to 10 inches. Most were hitting the ER so I cut off the
dropper. As I cast into a nice looking area of somewhat calmer, deeper
water I had a larger cutt rise and refuse the offering. I cast again
knowing it would do no good, but to my surprise, he rose again only to
refuse it at the last second as drag affected the drift of the fly. But on
the third cast, he took it.
I have to explain that I was sort of in a tricky position: standing
thigh-deep in water just upstream of a bolder with deep, fast water flowing
on either side. I knew if I caught a larger fish, I was going to have
problems getting it in. And sure enough, the cutt raced down the main
channel in the fast water taking out line as he went. Somehow I was able to
get the line over the top of the boulder and coax the fish into the
somewhat slower water on the other side. Eventually I landed the 13.5-inch
cutthroat, removed the ER from the corner of his mouth and sent him back
into the pool.
I'll tell what you, that fish really made up for the sorry start to my
morning!
Chris caught quite a few cutts as well, with an 11.5 incher topping off his
catch.
All in all, it turned out to be a great fisherman's day.
Rock and Reel,
Danny McMillin
