Trout Source

Hendrickson Male (Catskills, NY)

All Hail The Hendrickson (Au Sable, MI)
to the winter-weary angler, the hendrickson is as much a symbol of spring as the Christmas tree is to a kid in December.  And I guess it's because the hendrickson, in many ways, is the quintessential mayfly to us.  It isn't too big or too small.  It isn't quite a clockwork hatch, but it's damn close.  It's enigmatic, but it's not a brown drake.  It will mate and fall in the evenings, but it's not a hex.  To a fly tyer, the size #14 on which a hendrickson imitation is tied is as close as we get to a perfect canvas.  Small enough to hide mistakes.  Big enough to show off.

Great Fishing “Despite” Blizzard Caddis Hatch (McKenzie, OR)
Great fly fishing on the McKenzie River yesterday, despite blizzard grannom caddis hatches. This hatch can be frustrating. The fish aren’t hungry and you’re eating bugs all day too. But it tapers off in the next few weeks.

Flows & Timing (Yakima, WA)
When the river was down, we were UP!  Now that the river is up... we are down :(   The good part is that when the river drops next week the fishing will be hot again.  If we didn't get these swells we wouldn't see the extreme bite that occurs on the drop and the initial rise.

Blockage Report (Yakima, WA)
-New sweeper in the Irene to Ringer section, easy to slide boat over it
-Koa to Irene is clear above the weir.
-Main channel below State launch is blocked

Risk & Reward (Yakima, WA)
TRUST ME when I tell you, you want to be the first boat through after the river clears. There is some risk involved but there is too much at stake not to try. Anglers pursuing that "magic day" should roll the dice and give it a shot.

Flushing Flow (Bighorn, MT)
“The flushing flow is scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, April 9, and be completed by 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 12. During the flush, flows in the Bighorn River will be stepped-up incrementally from the current flow of 2,880 cubic feet-per-second (cfs) to a maximum of about 7,000 cfs and held at that rate for approximately 12 hours before stepping incrementally back down. The maximum flow of 7,000 cfs is expected to occur on Tuesday, April 10 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. During the flushing flow, the river stage is expected to vary by approximately 2 feet.”  This is going to be great for spring fishing and the fishery in general. The river currently has a bit of moss, different than grass, and this should clear the moss and expose some gravel that our hatching insects thrive in.  It may cut down on our sow bugs a bit by clearing out silt, but there are plenty of them anyways!

Art? (Bighorn, MT)

Dry Times (Frying Pan, CO)
With the hot dry weather continuing, last month has been designated as the second driest March on record. This coincided with a decision by the Bureau to drop the flow in the Pan to 65cfs.  In another article, some are lamenting the possibility of a low level run-off this coming year.  It may not be great for the rafters, but frankly after the last few years, it will be great for fishing.

Tough Times (Au Sable, MI)
Did you ever go cold?  I mean, in a fishing sense?  Like, every time you go fishing you get more than your just due of bad luck.  Big fish lost.  Unexpected high winds.  Bright bluebird days and quiet rivers.  The Au Sable has got a mean streak.  We call it paying our dues.

“Tough” Times (Oregon)
it is really tough to hook so many trout in a day that you simply lose count, but somebody's got to do it.

Nostalgic Times (Green, UT)
You can still find risers and moments of greatness, but it is inconsistent.

Reader Beware – of “bullshit” advice
A recent thread on a “popular” fishing forum really got me laughing. Someone was asking about rods/line recs for a trip and I just amazed at the bullshit in some of the responses. Yes, everyone has different casting strokes and opinions on rod and line recs but I am amazed at how many of these recs are so far out of the ballpark, a beginner would be lucky to turn over a bare hook.

Q: Whom Do You Trust?
I've been to a lot of fly shops from Alaska and British Columbia to all up and down the East Coast, to pretty much everywhere out West, and I've talked to countless others on the phone, and I'll have to say that the information I've received about their home rivers has run the gamut from invaluable to useless, and even sometimes possibly deceptive, bordering on outright lies.

A: The NON-PIMP (Yakima, WA)
Update from the NO PIMP ZONE. Fishing has been fabulous, the river is still in great shape, all in all the best Skwalla season I can remember. Although it is slowing up, it has been a great start to spring fishing.

BWO’s – Double Your Pleasure
These bugs love to hatch in inclement weather, so if it's your prerogative, try to fish the river on overcast or even raining days. You'll have more of the river to yourself and the wind and rain will knock the bugs for the fish to gorge on.

“Geezer Patrol” (Northern California)
Bill Kiene: They all fly fished before WWII and have seen the sport really change in the past 60 years. They are all proud members of the "Great Generation". If it was not for these guys I would have never made it in the fly fishing business. They all helped me one way or another.

Audio/Video Of Old-Timer Steelheader Mafia: Obsessive, Ruthless (Northern California)
  
“In those days, you always knew what your status was in the in group.  If they motioned you over and they moved their boats apart to let yours in, you knew you had status, you knew you were one of the guys.  There was a lot of secretive maneuvering, a lot of gamesmanship, a lot of decoying… There’s only a couple of parking spots...  The competition sometimes got out of hand.  It could be ugly.  Hell with anyone else.  …it was not a gentleman’s sport.  …It’s like something that runs your life.  It’s a way of life.  And it sometimes wrecks your personal life.”

Legendary Anglers Headed To The Big Lake In The Sky
In a matter of a few days, the bass fishing world has lost two of its “founding fathers,” if you will, as both Pat Donoho and Don Lee passed away last week.  Legendary anglers and bass fishing pioneers Pat Donoho and Don Lee headed to the big lake in the sky.  Goodbye my friend since 1975. Tell all of our buddies up there that we will be there soon. I love you. Pat was called to heaven to fish a bass tournament with Fred Kunkle, Oakie and Don Lee. We won’t know who won the tournament until we are with him (some of us might not see him). One of Pat’s sayings was “growing old is not for sissies.” He said he finally understood what it met when he got sick. [noteworthy, even if it’s neither trout nor fly-fishing]

Thanks for reading.