Buggers, Picket Pins, Stoneflies and a few Stogies

Buggers, Picket Pins, Stoneflies and a few Stogies
3/01/2016

 It took an assortment of offerings to get a trout to bite. It took a few stogies to bide my time between the bite in the morning to evening trout outing.
 The weather was comfortable for the first of March. Near 50 I think they said but it always feels chillier standing in cold water. The water was running a bit faster than I would have liked for this time of year but the greenish water color was perfect. With the coldness of the water and the quickness of it, in areas, I didn’t think a trout would chase a Wooly Bugger but I started off with one anyhow. I actually hooked up twice without getting either one to the net before I was able to finally net one. Getting the first one felt good. I felt I had the right offering but it ended up I didn’t catch another on the Woolly Bugger the rest of the day.

 When the sun rose above the winter bare trees upon the water, in the afternoon, stoneflies began to appear. The wind picked up some and the stones were fluttering upon the water. I was down creek, heading up stream, when I started fishing a Picket Pin with an early stonefly dropper. I didn’t like the way the indicator was moving in the faster runs so I took it off and took my chance fishing deep without it. I seen the floating line arc a little too much and set the hook. As I was starting to bring the trout towards me all of a sudden the line got weightier and started erratically moving beneath the surface. Nearer I could see two brown trout tugging on my line. I couldn’t get both in the net; I had too much line dropped below my Picket Pin. I did manage to get the top brown netted but the other trout got itself free.  

 After a few more casts my leader got tangled up with my weight and I brought it in to untangle the line. While my flies were dangling in the water I felt a tug and looked down just beyond my boots in the current. A chub had grabbed the early stone and got itself hooked.

 

 Back up creek I decided to fish the faster current with the stonefly where earlier I had a couple hook ups with the bugger. One trout took the stone in a soft spot behind a boulder.

 Keeping with the Picket Pin and stonefly dropper I fished it deep as I slowly waded down creek trying to cover the riffles effectively. I let the current take my imitation down towards shallower water when I got a hard strike. I set the hook and figured the trout took the Picket Pin. Fighting the fish, in the faster current, I got him nearer to me and safely netted a nice rainbow. The rainbow had taken the early stone fly.

 

 It wasn’t a banner day by any means but for an early March outing, in cold water conditions, it turned out not so bad. With the few stogies, and the warm sun, it was a relaxing outing and good to be out.
 I finished off the day with Romeo and Julieta for the ride home listening to some Kid Rock on two for Tuesday.

 ~doubletaper