Hi Folks, Double up yesterday with a morning fly trip for trout and and afternoon fly trip for smallmouth. Very different results in very different environments. Been nice over the last 3 days where I have guided 6 trips and they were all repeat guests. Well, a nice cold front moved in and it was a bit chilly on the tail water we fished yesterday morning. I actually wore waders instead of wet wading. The water temperature was 53 degrees and the water was off color. We did see a #14 midge hatching with regularity but not any fish rising to eat it. We could not buy a trout yesterday morning. We dead drifted nymphs and large dry flies as well as swung some streamers. The water we fished "screamed trout," but not such luck. Anyway, no better way to handle getting skunked than by going fishing again. In the afternoon, broke out the canoe with a guest I have guided for over 17 years. He is an excellent fly angler and knows how to smell out a fish. The surface temperature was 74 degrees with a steady north wind that laid down by dusk. Good #4/#6 Hex hatch at dusk. I am convinced that the Hex hatch really prompts a lot of the surface feeding by bass for the next couple of months. They seem to know to look up in the water column for food. Not to mention this is the time of plenty with bait fish, terrestrials, and the variety of water born insects that have hatched. We cast a #6 frog popper with great success. We landed well over 15 smallmouth with one massive beast that was hard to to turn with a 7wt. Good number of 13" to 15" smallmouth as well as yellow perch and sun fish and 1 very large nasty pickerel that hammered the popper. The huge smallmouth made an impressive jump and tail walk. We located all of the bass in and around weed bed and wood. Always rock in close proximity. The fishing really picked up as the afternoon progressed. It is always a real advantage for the fly angler who can cast and make long casts. You can cover more water and put distance between the fly and the boat and eliminate any spook factor. Double hauling is a must!! So practice your casting. I am off to chase smallmouth this afternoon in the boat. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy
