Yes, it's hot up here too even at 3:30 in the morning when I got up and made some coffee.
Got out of the house about 4:30 and on the water by 5:30 and I felt like I was a little late. Fish were breaking the surface everywhere almost like it was September or October. The air now actually felt a little cool and I was wishing I had a long sleeve shirt. The water here was noticeably cooler as well.
Lot of changes to the river since that high water last winter. All of the runs are still the same but some of the holes have filled in and some of the riffles are twice as big as before.
I start my day with a small florescent fly called a Cabalero which shows very well in the low light. After a few casts I hook up but come unbuttoned with the first jump and roll. A few more casts and a repeat of the first fish. Can't seem to get a solid hook up and decide to move up to another hole.
Fish are moving everywhere as I walk closer to some of the other runs. Beautiful fish moving fast, their backs out of water as they charge across some of the shallow riffles looking for deeper water.
By now the sun has started to get high and I switch to a flash of my own creation called the Feather River Special. A few more casts and a few more grabs but I couldn't get a solid hook up and that's the way the entire morning went. Probably 10 to 12 hook ups and not one landed. Some days thats just the way it is.
I'll be out there again tomarrow with a different rod and line. I think the 10w striper set up I was using was dragging bottom just a little too much.
The main flow of the Feather has come up the last few days and this may be bringing in some new fish. Everything I saw today was bright and only one with a white blotch on his head.
Time to get out there,
Tony Buzolich
www.feather-river-fly.com
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