I have been wondering the banks of the local waters aimlessly catching fish and have totally kept my hands off the keyboard! Better to have a fly rod in hand than be stuck at a desk typing.....!!!
Wow, it feels like I abandoned all of you and forgot to write river reports. How selfish! I apologize for the ill communication on transferring of information to ensure that all of you fantastic fisherman are well informed.
However, I am going to take this opportunity to TOTALLY REDEEM MYSELF and fill you in on all the most recent local fishing gossip!
The fly shop is a happening place in the morning. The guides come in early, grab a coffee, gander at all the flies and reminise about the past days fishing. Local and not so local fisherman chillin out while we fill out their licenses and getting ready to hit the water for the day. I love nothing more than the hustle and bustle of a busy fly shop in the morning and the energy from the staff, guides and guests totally replace the need for baileys and coffee!...okay....not quite...but close!~
The weather pattern this summer has me a little befuddled and I am still scratching my head wondering where the summer weather is. Amongst the cloudy week that we have had, the rain and thunder storms seem to be hanging around late in the day and pummeling down while we are all fast asleep. During the day there hasn't been too many downpours, but the cooler temperatures are keeping the mayflies happy and hatching.
The upcoming forecast shows nothing but beautiful weather ahead and we can expect those oh so wonderful summer temperatures!
If you haven't been up fishing here yet this summer and are wondering how things have been going. Fishing in general has been fantastic! The water levels are all great and nothing lower than average to report.
Thanks to everyone that has come to patron the shop or take a day with one of our fantastic guides. It is more fun that you realize for us to see familiar faces walk through the front door! Keep coming back, you make our day!
Jon Tha Man
Elk River and Tribs are all holding their own and no super skinny water to report.
You will see a few spots on the Elk River starting to get a little shallow off the gravel drops but either way G4 bottom or not you will be ok.....
Big Phat Green Drakes
Mahogany Duns
Yellow / Lime Sallies
PMDs / PEDs
Big Old Rubber Patterns from the boat for those weak eyes to see.
Patterns like: Phat Alberts, Water Walkers, Big Yellow Stimis, Red Bobs and perhaps some natural colored PMX's
Matching the Mayfly:
This has to be my absolute favorite bug to imitate and fish. They are magical and dance around the skies like they know what they are doing, unlike some of those big ugly caddis that don't have a clue how to manage their wings.
If you see bugs gracefully floating throught the ski chances are they are a mayfly.....GRAB ONE...look at it and pick something from your fly box that looks like it. The biggest mistake anglers make when matching the mayfly is they actually size up too big. The size is the most important part of matching the hatch.
Patterns: Mahogany Biot Dun or any Mahogany / Brownish Bodies mayfly size 12 / 14
Green Drakes Sz 14 / Sz 10
PED Sz 16
Blue Wing Olive sz 18 for those picky fish
Caddis......still lots of these out there. Try an olive sz 12
Hoppers and Ants if it's a nice HOT day!
Tantalizing drifts are key to succesfully catching fish around here. You could throw any fly out there and if you don't show it to them just the way they like...forget it, they won't bother wasting their energy coming up. So don't forget to MED THAT LINE!