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3. Some serious trout fishing - no flowers, just fish

OK, there WERE some nice flowering shrubs out there lining the banks, looked like dogwoods mostly...but the action on the water was the real deal tonight. The size wasn't there - the fish above was the biggest at 13"- but I had fish feeding and hitting all evening long, from 7:20 - 10:20, and brought probably 15 - 20 fish to hand. If I felt like killing fish I would have had a limit of keepers...And, the hatches were numerous and diverse, flies on the wing all evening long, some big #12-sized tan-orange caddis and a smaller #14 straw-colored caddis, plus some random grey ones. Light Cahills appeared at dark, but my #16 elkhair caddis were working so well I didn't bother to switch. Also saw some other good-sized mayflies towards dark that might have been Isonychia, plus an assortment of smaller and differently colored ones too. Lots of flies, lots of fish feeding on them...ah, the joy of summer fishing!

Only downside: finally resorted to insect repellent tonight, knew I would have to on the Rifle. They were in my face, in my ears, biting me while I was trying to unhook fish...in fact they were so aggressive I had to apply 40% DEET twice! And they still wouldn't stay out of my face. Oh well, that's June fishing for ya, ya gotta take the bad bugs with the good. Hex fishing is usually pretty bad for mosquitos...

Nevertheless, a lovely evening on a beautiful stream with cooperative fish. The Rifle River rarely disappoints!

Jonathon

Sounds like you had a great evening, nice. All of the fish you caught were on top? I love days like that but don’t experience them often, probably because I almost never fish in the evenings lol! Have you ever tried those off battery operated repellant clipnons? They have the cartridges you insert? I used that upstate and found it quite effective didn’t even need my Head net which is usual for the Adirondacks!

Oh btw, we’re you fishing from your kayak Johnathon? If so , is your strategy modified a bit as opposed to wading? I tried it a little upstate but again, found the logistics were challenging mainly due to the lack of an anchor ( for now) and if you do hook up, if your floating, you can be bouncing around and end up with the fish hookset directly behind you! 😝

David, this was wading. The Rifle is only about two-three rod-widths wide in this portion of the river, pretty much the headwaters. A kayak would be both awkward and fish-spooking! Lots of people do kayak and canoe the Rifle - in fact, my access point is a canoe launch/takeout - but forget fishing if even one or two go down the reach, the fish are all done for hours. And on the weekends, there are HUNDREDS. And most of them are drunk, so they're not exactly quiet either!

This section of the river has everything from ankle-deep riffles to holes pushing the water-line on my chest waders. It has always had good hatches and is reliable on a summer evening for good fishing with dry flies. I mean I saw a LOT of insects on the water, and that's what brings them up. It's by far my favorite way to flyfish, as it combines hunting with fishing - you are not just hoping some random fish out there hits your fly, you are stalking individual feeding fish as if you're tracking a game animal, looking for a good shot. Plus as I always say, a good hatch eliminates three questions:

Are they in the mood to bite? Yes they are!!

What are they feeding on? Whatever is flying in the air around you!

Where are they? Right there, and there, and there, and...

Tight lines and get that anchor!

Jonathon

That sounds like an awesome river , I would love to fish it someday 😊

Nice fish, jonathon! I was there yesterday morning till about 2:00 pm. I did ok, walking back to the car noticed grasshoppers everywhere. Mike.