Closing It Down

Except for the critters, I'm thinking that I may have been the last one out of the canyon last night. It's rare for me to be driving down Rainy Mountain with my headlights on. Did I catch anything? Oh yeah. It was a good day for fishing a couple of streams in the cooler temperatures we're having now. And, the fall colors are ready to begin peaking with the bright beautiful hues of yellows, oranges, and reds. My favorite time of the year.

The Leetle Fellers were very active and many hit my dry fly for tight line moments, and to find themselves in the bottom of my net. Surprise! All of them were wild browns with exception of one rainbow. I had to be careful to avoid the spawning beds and not disturb the frisky, mating swirls of brown trout. I know many of the usual places for redds on these streams, where each year they excavate a place to lay their eggs in the gravelly shallows. Often, I enjoy sitting down and just observing them going through the spawning rituals. They sure are intensely focused during their excited swirls with each other.

My brother and nephew will be here in a couple of weeks for some fishing adventures. They may be timing their visit just about perfect for some nice adventures in New Mexico. I sure hope so. I'm now putting tentative plans together for the streams we'll visit during his stay. October may be a fast month, or seems like it will be, anyway.

Gear: Winston WT 7' 2wt fly rod; Bauer SST3 fly reel; Winston Energy WF2F fly line; Simms sling pack; Dry flies only all day.