Chilly And Windy

I'm afraid my dry fly fishing season is coming to an end, just based on what I experienced today. Neal and I left early to get in some fly fishing on a pretty little valley floor. While rigging up our rods, our conversation centered on how chilly it was up at 8,000 feet. It was our first day up here that really felt like autumn had arrived.

We soon discovered that chill in the air didn't help our catching any, a bit too cold for the trout evidently. Add to that a bright, clear, sunny sky that's never a good factor for fishing up here. And then when it finally did warm up, the wind kicked up to a gusty level of not being able to see a bug in the sky. Yeah, I don't know where they all got blown off to on the mountain, but they were no where to be seen where we were fishing. Despite the conditions, we worked it hard all morning. To no avail.

The conversation during lunch break wasn't whether we should change streams, but where could we fish that has more cover from this wind we've been fighting. We were still hopeful. That's just who we are...two positive guys happy to be in the outdoors.

We did find a place among the pines where the wind was manageable to cast a dry fly. Unfortunately we didn't see any trout in that gin-clear running water. Except for one place. The only fish we could find were right under a bridge. That's it. No place else. We took a couple of stocker rainbows from the shadow of the bridge, and then called it a day. While the catching was poor, the clean mountain air on the mountain was exhilarating, and we appreciated the time up at altitude.

Gear: Scott GS 773 fly rod; Ross Colorado fly reel; Winston Energy WF3F fly line; Patagonia sling pack; Orvis landing net by Brodin; Black Beetle and Black Ant dry flies.