May 21 - Fogged In

Dense fog on humid evenings makes for wonderful photographic opportunities. The angling leaves something to be desired.

In his outstanding book The Battenkill, John Merwin observed that on foggy evenings rising fish are hard to find. My good friend Bill Hoyermann and I decided to put that theory to the test in the wake of a thunderstorm that came out of the blue earlier this week. Bill is an old school Montana guide, one of those fellows that ran boats down rivers long before it became fashionable to do so. He also happens to love dry fly fishing and does it quite well. He is the sort of guy with whom you are happy to share a pool.

For two evenings we had excellent fishing to a variety of brook and brown trout, with the best fish brought to hand being a lovely 13 inch brook trout. The first evening was comfortable, even a little cool. Fish rose from the moment we stepped foot in the water until we left quite satisfied as dusk settled over the river. The second evening provided equally good sport, though it came later in the evening. The spinner fall was more concentrated and the rise activity more frenetic. As darkness settled in fish rose all around us, grabbing every bug that drifted by. They were a little more discerning of our artificials, but a drag free drift was often rewarded with a take.

The bug on the menu was a black quill, a somewhat obscure mayfly that is common on certain stretches of the Battenkill (and other rivers such as the Au Sable in Michigan) where its habitat needs are found. I left this one out of my book because I was not certain of it's importance. I am finding it to be an important May event in it's spinner form. You will know they are about when you park your car along the stream. They are highly attracted to the shiny reflection of automobiles. It's not uncommon to have half a dozen or more of these bouncing up and down over your car, landing briefly and then taking off again. They display this same behavior on the river, dipping onto the surface briefly, then taking off again. Towards dark they fall one last time. The rises to the "dippers" is quite splashy, when they finally lie spent on the water the rises become more sedate.

It was on the second evening that that the 13 inch brookie was caught. A couple other good looking fish had been coming up in the vicinity of this fish and we decided it would be a good idea to see if one of it's brethren might also be in the same class, so we decided to return for one last time. The heavy thunderstorms that interrupted our late afternoon siesta's told us that the conditions would be different. Much of the lower river was brown and running high from the deluge, but as we made our way upstream the river cleared a bit.

We found ourselves setting up after 7, a thick fog hugging the stream corridor. I mused about Merwin's observations and opined that a move elsewhere might make sense. Ultimately, we decided to stay put. The bugs would likely be there and we had a desire to see if another solid brookie could be found. Indeed, when we got to the river, a glance up above the low lying fog showed that there were many, many bugs in the air. There were stoneflies, caddisflies, a few sulfur duns and lots of black quills and another, much larger mayfly spinner that turned out being Isonychia spinners. Lots of them. Right at dusk a parade of another obscure mayfly, the Baetisca, came floating down. I counted two rises. Bill caught one small brookie.

As we made the long walk back to the car, we were serenaded by a deafening chorus of frogs and toads. Somewhere in the misty fog the spirit of John Merwin drifted about. No doubt he was shaking his head thinking, "I told you". Yes, John. you did! +

River Report

The river has moved well past Hendrickson time and fishing will be best up until about 11 and then in the evening until dusk for the rest of the season. Water levels are currently at the lower end of normal and a bit of rain would not be a bad thing. As far as bugs go, March Browns, Iso's ands smallish sulfurs in the 16 range are being seen. Spinner falls of all three will be your best bet in catching fish on the rise. Zug bugs or Prince nymphs fished in the fast water with a quick retrieve will move fish looking for Iso nymphs migrating to shore. Caddis are also about, a 16/18 tan seems to be predominant. A wet fly in the riffles or a Vt caddis skated on top in the riffled water will be rewarded. Yellow Sally stoneflies are also taking flight. A 16 yellow sally nymph is the best imitation for these pretty flies.

The next week looks cooler and the river should be in decent shape. Again. a few showers to keep the flows strong would not be a bad thing at all.

Finally, I will be at Orvis on Saturday the 25th tying flies and signing books. Stop by and say hello!