1. Troutnut Forum
›
2. Photography
›
3. Got my camera flash working (subtitled: Why do I love this fly?)

The bigger fish are coming up for me lately, at a time of year one usually considers the "Dog Days" around here in Michigan. Waters are low and clear (but, they are cooling nicely)...hatches are thinning (Nectopsyche only seem to bring up silly little leaping rainbows - which miss my fly more often than not!)...days are shortening...and then out of a spot I didn't think was particularly "juicy" habitat comes this beautiful 16-incher, my second biggest of the year and my biggest ever from this stretch of the Rifle. I took three pictures of it to capture the colors, which as you can see are spectacular - check out the two magenta spots on the adipose fin! I tell you what, this river sure grows some pretty browns, see the 14-incher I posted a few weeks ago from this same reach. They are all so crisp and bright, with golden-yellow backgrounds and fabulous red spots with halos, almost brookie-like.

And what fly? This fish struck out of completely silent water on a good old #12 White Wulff, on 3x tippet on my 7 1/2-ft. 3wt as it was just getting good and dark. Yeah, it's been around a good long time, it's old school, and it still works well for me after 25 years, this time with PROOF. Danged if I couldn't have gotten a shot of that 18-incher...caught on the same fly pattern two weeks ago. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

;oD

Jonathon