Back to the Salmon River: I went back to the Salmon River today. (For the record I’m referring to the one in Colchester, Connecticut.) Conditions were fairly good. Water was down a hair, but running at a respectable 57 degrees. Nice temperature that. No the river wasn’t crowded. Loved that too. And get this: a decent hatch came off.
Back to the Salmon River
What was hatching? Well this river isn’t known for its abundant insect life, but mid-morning I saw a decent number of yellowish/ olive mayflies size 14/16 flying over the pool. There were upwards of 20 in the air at a time. Sulphurs? Likely. But they might also have been Epeorus vitreus. These two mayflies can come off together. Are very similar in appearance. And therefore hard to separate at times.
The mayflies today emerged in fast water, shooting straight skyward. Vitreus? Yet they had reddish eyes like Emphemerella dorothea. Ummmmm. Oh hell, take your choice. Either way, unfortunately, there wasn’t any real dry fly action. The duns spent zero time on the surface. Truth is I never saw one floating downstream? I did see a few small fish slashing at micro caddis, I believe. But no real risers.
Okay, once again nymphs saved my day. Four nice rainbows clamped down on a size 18 zebra nymph, dangling off a size 16 bead-head caddis. None of the them were big trout. Nevertheless they fought well and I’m grateful for them. All in all, a good day on the water!
Now for an interesting aside. Ninety percent of the time I fish “glass” fly rods for trout, my favorite being an 8 foot Winston. Honestly I prefer “glass” rods for their action, especially in small water situations, where light lines and finesse rule the day. Typically I use one rod all day, but this time I brought along two – a Diamondglass and a Kabuto. In the morning I worked an 8 foot, 4wt. Diamondglass, then switching to a short, 3wt Kabuto later in the day.
What I noticed was how much the action of your rod affects how you fish. The “faster” Diamondglass (s-glass) had me fishing farther out and moving quicker along the stream. While the “slower” Kabuto (e-glass) made me fish closer in and at a more relaxed pace. Yes, your choice of fly rod truly has an effect, controlling the rhythm, and tempo of the day.
