Hi Folks, Finally got some rain. We are in a drought and the rain over the weekend was a welcome relief. I lost a trip yesterday for the first time this year. The previous two days were spent chasing river smallmouth and small stream trout fishing. The big water was 74 degrees and so low that we could wade all over the river. Nice to be able to wade into spots that are generally not approachable. We caught fish on a #8 cone headed olive bunny bugger. Not much for a top water bite but believe that was influenced by the arriving front. We caught a dozen fish and all of them were in the 1.5lb to 2lb class. Lots of #6-#10 stone fly shucks on rocks and a decent hatch of #14 tan bodied caddis coming off that were be eaten by small bass and fall fish. Saturday was a morning on small brook that was 59 degrees and coming up. Early a thunderstorms had puffed the stream up. The rising water level made it deceiving as to where the fish were holding. Many sexy looking spots that were devoid of a trout and probably were a bit dry the previous day before the water came up. We cast a #10 royal foam stimulator, #12 yellow bodied stimulator, and nymphed with #14 prince. We landed native brook trout and wild brown trout. Missed a few fish including losing a decent rainbow. Really important when fishing small brooks with the fly to manage your fly line well. Slack line translates to bad drifts and missed fish. Trout are not very forgiving and you generally get one crack at them. However, if you get the trout to eat your fly then you have done a good job tricking them. Off to stream fish later today. Water should be high still but hopefully cooled off some. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy
