Finally fishing in 2019...

Pretty sad when it is May before a fly hits the water, but late snows and lots of overtime at work had kept all my flies dry this year until today. I had just been looking at my fly boxes in the storage room looking at my box of hoppers and longingly remembering the slow rise of some huge rainbows at Nunya last year. A couple hours later, Tom called just as I was returning from my last errand of the day. He was at Ensign Ranch near Cle Elum and was going to stop at the Fighting Rainbow Club "on the way home" to Wenatchee. Would I like to join him? Hmm, wife and daughter in New York, empty calendar, give the WhatToDo a quick spin, and guess what?

Twenty minutes later I was on the road. Tom was across the pond in his float tube when I arrived. Risers all around him, fishing chironomids shallow under the indicator, he landed several while I readied my gear. Soon I was out to join him. First cast as I was kicking to where he was, I had a take down, which I missed. Thus started a great afternoon of fishing. There were some times when things slowed down, but if you found a rising fish and tossed your fly within a few feet of the rise, at least half the time you'd have a grab and a chance at a hook-up. The little guys were 16" to 18" and full of fight, making a number of long runs along with some acrobatics.

There were also a few big guys, like this 22" beast that I couldn't hold up for a picture because my hand wouldn't fit around it.

We switched to buggers when risers slowed down, but I eventually switched back to chironos later in the afternoon when I found more risers. Tom caught seven standing at the takeout while I kicked around trying to find one. I should have gone in with him. Temperature about 80F, light wind, lots of willing fish. Couldn't ask for a better afternoon, or a better first outing of the year. Hoping for more to come.