The Omen III: Never Trust a Fishing Report Over 30 (days old).

The first thing Chris said when I called him was “Last year on this day I had one of the best BWO hatches I’ve ever seen on this river.”

Talk about front-loading the conversation.

In truth, it didn’t matter - it was Thursday and I was going fishing, good omens or not. And frankly, things looked pretty good. The weather was gray and damp, with drizzle coming and going.

One of two landed yesterday. This was 12″ (that’s a #22 dry). My second fish was 14″.

It was, in fact, perfect BWO weather, though flows were a concern.

The last two years have taught me that conditions can be great, but the bugs and trout might not show if water levels have fluctuated dramatically (this free theory is worth every penny you’re paying for it).

As you can see, we’ve experienced some significant fluctuations in flows the last several days. The river itself was much higher and picked up some color, which was fine with me.

A little more water (and a little more dirt in that water) would mean less-spooky fish, and I went with 6x on water that required 7x a few days ago.

Where are the bugs?

The stage was set for a truly epic day of dry fly fishing, but the bugs largely failed to show.

A light hatch kept a few fish working sporadically, and those fish were a far cry from last week’s spook-meisters, but we spent a fair amount of time standing around and waiting for a rise.

I landed two, lost another at my feet, and - frustratingly - had five other grabs that didn’t lead to a hookup.

I also experienced several of fly fishing’s equivalent to getting slapped in the face - the refusal rise. These were later explained when I realized the leader was furling a bit on landing.

Bad tippet. Baaaad tippet…

The changing water level could have brought this down upon us, but it’s also possible the hatch - tentatively identified as the pseudocleons by the Underground’s Long-Distance Bug Whisperer Sully - is petering out.

Two years ago the bugs started small and got bigger as fall progressed into winter, and perhaps we’re seeing that process starting now.

The bug of the day was nothing more than a quill bodied #22 dry with a clipped mallard tail (trailing shuck) and medium dun hackle.

I use mallard dyed woodduck for a trailing shuck on a lot of flies, but wasn’t happy with the durability. Sully mentioned tying it in longer and clipping it square, which seemed to work just as well but held up better.

But enough fly fishing reportage. It’s back to work writing for those who pay the bills. I’ve got a couple good things in store for the Underground, including a report from Baja from the Underground’s “I’m fishing someplace warm and taunting you about it” Saltwater Correspondent.

Plus another article guaranteed to make you shake your head and wonder what the hell we’re smoking up here.

See you on the river, Tom Chandler.