The trout still seem to be making up their minds as to the season, but for the anglers this heat wave is locked into a rainless stretch and there is no doubt this is summertime!
The early mornings have been hit or miss, more misses than hits to tell the truth, and it is damned hot already today at ten in the morning. Freestones are lower than low and far too warm for trout fishing, and reservoir flows are still lower than normal. I guess I will be dodging drift boats today to see what the West Branch might offer.
I just slicked up my Triangle Taper four weight line after a few casts on the Cumberland Queen, my lovely Dream Catcher eight-footer. She will join me today to search for a fine brown trout or two amid the hustle and bustle of a busy tailwater. The Queen found love for the first time on the West Branch, with a twenty-inch wild brown late on a summer evening.
I tied half a dozen dries of the Cahill persuasion this morning, 100-Year A.I. Duns and CDC Cripples, as Light Cahills have been known to make brief daytime appearances in the cold waters of the West. There are plenty of sulfurs already packed into the old Superfine fly box in my chest pack.
Time to get the rest of my gear together and put these fresh flies in the box. It’s always best to be earlier than Mother Nature.
Bright Waters Catskill 