Fits and Starts

Well, the Hendrickson's are on. Sort of. Two days this week summed up the early days of the hatch. Monday was sunny,cool and breezy. Down in New York there was a surprisingly strong emergence of baetis that got started at about 1 pm. One pool was covered with the little bugs but there was nary a rise. By about 2:45 some Hendrickson's began to show but not all that many. I stuck it out until about 3:30 then decided to make a run upriver, checking a few spots along the way.

When I got to the Spring Hole, one of that famous pool's regulars reported a decent number of flies coming off with an odd rise here and there. Nothing to get too excited about. I continued my venture upstream until I came to a nice long flat in Vermont. After a few minutes watching I could see that Hendrickson's were dribbling off here and there. Just as I was about to leave I saw what I thought was a rise. Then another. Finally!!! On went the waders and I entered the water for the first time with real hope.

With flows down it was an easy wade down to where two fish showed occasionally. The breeze helped mask my movement and this allowed for a pretty short cast, a real benefit in the blustery conditions. The one fish that was working with a readily steady rate was feeding in a very obvious feeding lane and the cast was simple. The trout took on the first cast (miss) and on the second cast (another miss) and finally on the third cast I managed to set the hook. This trout was determined to take my Atherton # 4. At 11" it was far from the biggest trout but at least the ice has been broken.

Tuesday seemed like it would be a better day. It was considerably warmer (mid 60's) but the warmth brought with it a strong southwesterly that never abated. A drive up and down the river showed few bugs and the only fish observed being caught were done so sub surface. I was hoping for the first spinner fall of the season, but the wind shifted, and any hope of a calm evening was dashed. Despite the slow start to the hatch, I believe we will be in the thick of it next week and on into the following week or two!

The first weekend of May (3-5) brings us the third year of the Battenkill Fly Fishing Festival (vtflyfest.com). This year the event is happening along with Northeast Trout Unlimited having their spring meetings at the event. There is a host of activities going on so check out the schedule. I will be tying flies on Friday and Saturday and selling my book, with 100 % of sales going to the Battenkill Home Rivers Initiative. Besides the festivities there is also a tree planting at 11 am on Sunday the 5th at Union Street in Manchester.

An interesting looking Hendrickson. Note the ruddy complexation along the front edge of the wing.