I know It is Wednesday, sorry for the delay.

Together Again!

Opening weekend has come and gone. The gathering of old friends and new friends is in the books. The little black stones and the gray midge were there as well, celebrating their call to adulthood. Almost every year these insects are there with us, taking their first walk in the snow along the banks of their home waters. They have become a symbol of opening day and the bright outlook that new beginnings bring. These two insects are the early food sources that we, and the trout, concentrate on for the first weeks of the season. Small dark colored nymphs(#16-20), small Zebra midge larva(#18-22), Parachute Adams and Griffiths gnats in(#18-22), all took fish this weekend. The takes were not aggressive, they were barely discernible in many cases,and one had to feel the bite or watch the indicator quite closely to recognise the take.  These patterns were not the only ones that caught fish though. There was the Pink Squirrel and its new sister, the Air-Head Pink Squirrel, that took a trout on the first cast of the day. There was the slow moving, dead drifted, Woolly Bugger and Turkey Leech, twitched ever so slowly along the bottom of the deepest holes in the stream.  There was also the family scud, fished in 4 different colors (tan, orange, pink and olive) that turned over a few trout. In truth, reasonable presentations of numerous patterns resulted in a trout or two in the last few days. This is how the season usually begins, familiar faces in familiar places and a re-emergence of life after a lengthy hibernation in our chosen North.

CONDITIONS

Water was clear and cold. Although no one that I fished with remembered their thermometer, I am guessing the water temps were between 35 and 38 degrees. Guides iced up on both Saturday and Sunday. The last two days were warm enough to avoid this unpleasant phenomenon. The water is in great shape and running full, not high, but by no means low. Today will be the first day that a bit of extra water goes into the rivers. Last night we had 3 inches of snow which is now reduced to slush due to

Nap Time!

the 39 degree temp. The run-off will freeze tonight. Look for the warming trends, fish will be most active during the warm up and until the run-off water cools water temps down. At this time of year mid-day is usually the best time, but we also can experience the warmest water temps early in the morning if we are expecting a mid 40 degree or higher day time temp.

Our Gathering……….

Included some new faces this year and some old ones. Dave Norling at 80 years of age made the long trek in and out of the lower Kinni on both days. I hope I still have that ability 30 years from now, it is a great testament to his character. A few new anglers saw the Keebler Elf Tree for the first time. There was definite evidence that the elves had been living there this winter! Naps were taken in the sunny afternoon heat and gallery fishing was the rule. The peanut gallery was quite active. Guests were  involved in heated political or economic discussions, cheering or jeering at the angler currently fishing, staring at the mesmerizing beauty of the shimmering water, eating fine culinary delights from a host of exquisite preparers, drinking heavily and a rather lengthy list of other activities. Somehow fishing was not the most important pass time on Saturday. Fun was had by all. Randy thanks for being a great host, and sorry about your keys.

POKER

This year’s poker game was dedicated to Bob Z, our friend who had been there through the previous 29 openers and unexpectedly passed away this last spring. Bob was a hat guy and so lids were required on this night of poker. The game ended at 3AM with a slight dispute over a mis-deal. The game ended with everyone a winner…say no more. One man tipped over an hour early and one man(still a mystery) blew chow after everyone had gone to bed. The game may have ended at 1AM but a call to ramp up the fun meter was successful. My photo browser is down for now, I will get more photos up later.