Rainy afternoon

I fully expected to be rained on, but I thought it was worth the chance, and drove to the river. Hardly any bugs at all, but I hooked a good trout right away, and had several rises to isonychia patterns. At a big hole (never mind where), I watched a very large trout come up for some kind of fly I didn't see. This may be the biggest trout I've seen in the river, well over 20 inches. I couldn't get a rise over the trout, but hooked and lost a nice one at the top of the pool.

Then the rain started and was pretty bad for a while. After 45 minutes or so, the rain slowed to the point where I could fish again, but I could only raise small trout after that.

Saw a large dead brown washed up on some gravel. Its spots were still visible. I would say it was about 20 inches.

Only saw 2 isonychias emerge.

Afternoon on the river

Yesterday was a lovely day to be on a trout stream - moderate temperatures, a bit of a breeze, and increasingly overcast as the day progressed. Water was low but fishable - a couple days of solid rain would help the stream out some. There were not a lot of bugs around, but there were a few isonychias flying about.

I hooked and lost a brown that looked 12 or 13 inches and surprisingly, caught a few brookies.

some cooler nights

I'm happy we've been having some cooler nights, which can only be good for the streams. A nice long rain would be welcome as well. I've been avoiding my usual haunts through the heat of summer, but I'm going to find a stream to fish on Saturday. Meanwhile, I've been tying some isonychia dun patterns in preparation for what I hope will be a good emergence this year.