PMDs and Caddis and Rain, Oh My! July 2nd Fishing Report
By: Warren DeMark
Hello from the canyon, it’s been a while since our last report! We have had a busy month here at the lodge, and the last two weeks have been a whirlwind of good fishing, great people, and delicious food. With every new group that has come in, we’ve had a whole new weather system, from 90 degree days with 30 mph winds, to highs in the 60’s and an inch of rain in one storm. Conditions have varied greatly, which is normal for June, and our fishing approach changes daily.
For the dry fly crowd, the fishing has been unbelievable. The PMDs have offered consistency with the top water approach. Early morning spinner falls leads to early dry fly fishing that can last throughout the day. Sporadic hatches throughout the day keep the fish looking up for a PMD spinner or cripple on the water. If you’ve spent half an hour and you can’t catch the fish sipping in slower water, move on. Your mental health will thank you. Fish some swifter, riffle water where the fish have to make decisions faster. There’s plenty of fish up right now, so make it easier on yourself. Practice your reach cast. Practice your reach cast. Practice your reach cast. If you can’t get your fly to the fish without drag or sinking it by mending, they will not eat it. A 20 foot drift off a decent reach cast over a consistently feeding fish will get eaten. If the drift is good and he doesn’t eat your fly in rhythms, downsize the fly. The rainy, cold weather days make the hatches start later, which can result in unbelievable hatches after a shot of a rain around 3 in the afternoon. A couple days ago we had rain and a high in the 60’s. After sprinkling all day, we had a hatch at 3:30 that was unbelievable. The entire river was carpeted in bugs. This made the fish go nuts but be slightly more selective. If you find yourself in a blanket hatch like this, find fish in an area with slightly few naturals around, or downsize and get weird. Pick a pattern that will stand out more in the waves of bugs on the water. A funky cripple pattern will usually cause a picky fish to perk up to your offering. Caddis are going hard now, starting around 3:00 o’clock in localized hatches and being river-wide right before dusk. Throw bigger, fuzzier patterns in fast water where you see fish splashing if you want to have a heart attack. Throw smaller patterns in slow water if you want to feel rewarded for good presentation. Yesterday was my first day off in two weeks, and was one of the best days of Caddis fishing I’ve experienced. Look for splashy eats, those are the fish that will crush your Caddis pattern. If it’s a subtle sip, they’re still eating leftover PMDs. The river is your dry fly playground right now, go out and explore.
For the nymphers, fishing has been great as well. Shallow in the mornings with PMD patterns for the gravel bar grazers. Deeper in the afternoon for more numbers. The short leash has been really good the last few weeks. Try it with a little weight on the top to slow the flies down and the smallest indicator you have. Shallow fish will see a bobber easier and the smaller indicator seems to make a difference in our success rate. If the dry fly fishing gets frustrating, which it can be, this a good way to touch some fish without potentially blowing a gasket.
Streamer fish is decent. Very good on stormy days. Work on your strip pump. Use your hand you hold the rod with to move the fly while stripping while keeping the rod tip low to the water. Others will say this lowers your hookup rate. Maybe. It increases your eat rate though. Definitely. The action you get on this causes the fly to flutter and fall, much like a crayfish, which big nasty browns love. If you miss a couple fish from the pump, so be it, you’ll see more than enough fish that it won’t matter.
This time of the year feels like peak season for a lot of people. It truly is great. But Tricos are around the corner. And that gets me excited. More excited than it probably should. That is the hatch that shows who’s serious about dry flies. If you’re coming in July or August I have three pieces of advice.
1. Work on your reach cast.
2. Work on your reach cast.
3. Work on your reach cast.
-Warren