In the year that the rain seems to continue to fall, the Grannom hatch has come and dwindled last week. The fluctuations of temperatures from the 70’s to 30’s has caused a bit of confusion for the fish and fisherman alike. The trout cannot seem to key in on the adults when the wind dies enough and the skies are not dropping rain. It does not help that the river flows have been fluctuating greatly going up and down in feet in a matter of hours. The temperature swings in water temperature have been just as wild, dipping into the low 40’s and getting up to mid 50’s.
Luckily, a fellow guide and I did happen to get an overcast afternoon where some fish were taking dries. We had a great time floating and anchoring up next to risers until we got them to the net. This all ended once the rain started again and put down all of the rising fish.
Thankfully, on Easter Sunday, I was graced with some nice weather, a day off, and the perfect Grannom hatch. From what I understand, this was far from the “usual” occasion of Grannoms floating on the surface, but the fish did not mind. I was able to fool fish after fish to take my #16 black caddis pattern. In a stretch of river where it is normal to only catch small, wild browns in the 10-12” range, I was able to entice a fair number of larger eaters, including this nice, rare rainbow. As the sun was going down I could only cast into the eddies and seams and try my hardest to see my flies through the bright glare. I would set the hook any time a fish surfaced where I thought my flies were, normally with luck.
The following days I witnessed the freight trains of caddis flying up the river valley to deposit their eggs upstream, with only little attention from the fish. When they did decide to rise and time allowed, I would get out with my already rigged rod, a double dry fly setup, and fool a few before I had to meet clients and get back to work.
As the rivers continue to stay high with the next five days calling for rain, I am thankful I was able to get a small tasted of what dry fly fishing out here can be like. Under even slightly better circumstances, this area offers supreme dry fly opportunities.
