Slow Day

The weather was nice for fishing today. However, Rich and I discovered the fish up on Rainy Mountain weren't in the mood to play with us. No, neither of us got skunked, but we didn't have an active day with tight lines either. That's okay. It was nice to get out in shirt sleeve weather and roam the mountain side where a trout stream flows by our feet. After all, we were outdoors in a beautiful place on a gorgeous day. Can't complain.

This was the first time I fished my Winston 8' 4wt rod on a trout stream. It was a bit long for some stream sections we were fishing, but I was able to learn about how the rod performs in view of casting and how it handles a trout on a tight line. No doubt, this rod is a sweetheart and will be much fun going after the Leetle Fellers this year. I learned enough about the rod today to know which streams it should be assigned for future fly fishing adventures this year.

Looking at the snow melt and seeing the runoff at this time, we may have some good fishing conditions in May. Of course, late spring storms and precipitation could change that, but I'm thinking it's an early runoff period for us anglers this year. However, I'm not a weatherman and it all could go wrong in a blink of an eye. We just have to wait and see.

Oh, did I say that we only caught brown trout? Yep, no rainbows even though the Hatchery was reported to have stocked some of our streams. We only put wild browns in the net today. And, I'm good with that! Wild trout are so much more fun on the end of a line than hatchery trout anyway.

Gear: Winston IM6 8' 4wt fly rod (1992); Trutta Perfetta fly reel; Rio LightLine WF4F; Elk Hair Caddis dry fly. Brodin C&R net; Simms sling pack.

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