Happy Birthday to Me!

After a record number of consecutive days over 100 degrees, the forecast was finally for the temperature to drop to 90 degrees in the regions where we fish. Perfect timing for a day-after-my-birthday trip (Rick). 

Left home really early and arrived at the stream shortly after sunrise. Slipped into the water, still nice and cool even after all the heat. Swarms of small flies above the water but no fish rising. They generally seem to ignore those flies here, you rarely see fish rising, except to swallow your hopper. Water levels were good for this time of year, still up in the overhanging grass, giving lots of cover along the banks, which is where the hopper was drifted all day. Early always seems to be a little slow, but caught the first fish a few runs up from the start, a slow rising rainbow about 18 inches that got off at the bank. By the time I reached the first corner, I had hooked six fish without missing one, a pretty good start. Most had been smaller, but decent action.

Both changed at the corner, where my first toss into head of the run brought a rainbow well over 20-inches almost completely out of the water onto my fly. Or near it at least. Never felt it when I lifted and couldn't interest it in any other offerings. Didn't hook it, but a memorable take.

I continued to find fish with good frequency throughout the day. I watched a 20-inch fish come up from the bottom in slow motion, mouth wide open to close on my hopper. With great restraint, I waited until the mouth closed and the fished started down with my fly before lifting to set the hook, and was rewarded with a few leaps and multiple runs deep under the overhanging grass banks before it made it into the net.

In a long riffle above a slow stretch, I saw three fish rising in the middle of the stream, just small dimples which I thought were probably small redside shiners that also are found here. However, when my hopper floated over where they were feeding and disappeared, an 18-inch rainbow exploded out of the water after I lifted the rod to set the hook. 

Plenty of action on the Morrish Hopper, pink body today, both medium and large size. In deeper runs or where I'd had a couple takes with no more interest, I tied on the orange jig-head October caddis as a dropper and often found willing fish, although they tended to be smaller at 12 to 13 inches. I won't complain! The last corner hole before turning back to the car, I found a nice deep run, but only had a couple misses on the hopper. Tied on the dropper and proceeded to catch nine rainbows to end the day, seven cookie-cutter 12 to 13-inch babies, then a nice fat 18-inch chunk followed by one more baby. A nice way to end the day.

The score for the day ended up being fish - 25, rattlesnakes - 0. I always like a snake shutout on this stream, especially when fishing alone. More of the smallish 12 to 13 inch fish, but plenty of a good size, with a 20 inch, three 18 inch, a couple 17 inch, and several in the 14 to 15 inch range. Two small browns, the rest rainbows.

Glad I remembered water as the hike back was very hot even with the wind. Turns out the temp was 102F, not the forecast 90F. That's OK, the fishing was just as hot. A great birthday gift to myself.