Cutthroat Along the Eastern Slopes

I have heard lots of reports from our gang who are fly fishing along the eastern slopes. The cutthroat rivers are looking good. The flows are near seasonal rates too! Find your favourite dry flies and get out there if you can. Our rivers will be busy this August long weekend but find a time and spent a few days wandering around. Those dusty roads can be a gold mine to fly fishers.

Karen and I have been out too!

Arm yourselves with Parachute Adams, PMDs, BWOs, hoppers, Golden Stones and a few flashbacks. If it is overcast you might find a hatch of Green Drakes.

Enjoy the August long weekend. It is going to be a hot one!

Remember safety first. Always be bear aware (take bear spray) and avoid any contact! Cross streams with care. Don't take any unnecessary chances.

Bruce netting one of many he caught!

Green Drake Nymph

Colin having a great time!

 

Herder's Ranch with a Handful of Grandkids

Dr. Bill, Karen and I took a handful of our grandkids out to Herder's Ranch a few weeks back to fly fish for gigantic rainbows. I was a bit concerned about water temperature but Colby Herder assured me that the water temperature was just fine. The pond is constantly feed by a spring creek and the water temperature stayed around 62F. Our grandkids worked on their casting and tangling with big rainbows. There are rainbows, browns, tigers and brookies in the pond. My one grandson landed a very nice tiger trout! It was a blast to say the least. Any larger fish were not handled by the kids because they were too large and we did not want them out of the water for anything but a quick picture. Dr. Bill, Karen and I took care of a lot of tangles, coaching the kids and tying on flies. We used minnow patterns, Vampire Leeches, chironomids (Hog Magnets and some basic small black chironomids) and humpy dry flies with a lot of success. After 7-8 hours at the pond, our grandkids called it a day. The grandparents all hit the sack that night early! We were worn out!

 

 

Brown Drakes

Several weeks ago, I got a text from a friend. It had one word, "Drakes." I loaded up that evening and when I got to the river, it was an amazing sight to see. Thousands of spinners bouncing up and down just over the water and duns popping up everywhere. The trout were on it too! I quickly rigged up and hustled down to the river. Before I started to fly fish, I just took a moment to watch the amazing number of brown drakes. It was nature at its best. Brown drakes are large and our local trout know a good thing when they see it! It took me a while to hook a trout! Several trout were sipping the brown drakes down. It was close to dusk.

I did have a flashback of past brown drake hatches right in town on the Red Deer River. I have caught my largest Red Deer River browns on a brown drake pattern. Close to dusk or on overcast days, you can experience a brown drake hatch! It is one of those hatches that you will love.

Brown Drake spinners

 

Hexagenia Hysteria

Hexagenia mayflies are candy to trout! They are our largest mayfly! The hexagenia duns will start to emerge at dark and this time of the year that can mean getting to bed at 1 am or even later! The brown trout in Central Alberta do not miss the opportunity to greedily gulp these big mayflies down until they are stuffed. I have also seen hexagenia at some of our lakes. Walleye love to eat the larva and duns. The spinners can fall during the day or in the evening. Again trout will gulp them down. I even saw a pike roll up on the surface and chomp down a hexagenia! That was cool to watch!

I have had a lot of fun chasing this hatch. Some days the duns covers the river and you will find it hard to catch a fish! Other days, the hatch is light and you have the chance to tangle with a dandy brown trout! I usually do not even put my waders on until 10 pm. Some days I do not even make a cast, other days the action is amazing!

Can you catch trout during the day when the hexes are popping? Yes! I have used a spinner hexagenia and at times a dun. Often I will have better success by using a downstream cast.

Visualize being in darkness by a river hearing several big brown trout making a "popping" sound as they eat hexagenia. Often you cannot see exactly where they are. You cast and set the hook when you hear the brown eat. Every once in a while you tighten up to a trout! You stumble back to your car or camp in the pitch black, sometimes frustrated and other times with a gigantic smile of satisfaction!

Be sure to have a good head lamp and plenty of mosquito repellant! 

I love chasing this hatch! It is a great challenge and the rewards are amazing!

Do you see the "Glow in the Dark" flashabou in the post of the parachute?

Landing a 26 inch buck is a real thrill! A true trophy!

A hexagenia spinner on the side of the trailer.

Carnage after the hatch!

A dun changing to a spinner!

The sentinal keeping an eye on the action!

The parachute post glows in the dark! Great idea Rick!

It took me two evenings to hook this brown. She finally ate my "imposter!"

What would you rather eat, a caddis or a hexagenia?