March Browns

I took another little recon trip down to the Lower Gallatin yesterday in between snow storms. Like I said, I was seeing some March browns as well as BWO's and midges the other day and I really wanted to get some good shots to use for presentations next winter so I brought my good camera this time and was more on a photo recon mission than anything. I really wasn't planning on fishing but I brought a rod and a few bugs of my own just in case.

After getting some really cool shots of both March brown and BWO duns and nymphs and even a couple shots of skwalas, I started seeing fish up and I just couldn't resist. Most were small but there was one on the opposite bank, right along a few roots hanging out from the cut bank that looked pretty good. The river was deep so I really couldn't get very close but I had to have that fish.

That's the cool thing about fly fishing. For some, it's catching a bunch and it doesn't really matter how. For others, it's seeing that one fish right along the bank and making an almost impossible cast to get him and if you only catch one, it's a success.

There were other fish rising in the middle of the river. They were coming up on BWO's and were pretty small. You can always tell the dinks with how splashy the rise is. They're like teenagers--they have to do everything at a hundred miles an hour making sure they make the most of every opportunity. The big guys; they don't want to work so hard and they're pretty confident they'll get their prey when they commit to it. Everything is slow and methodical and they only give enough effort to get it done. It might be just the nose you see or maybe a little bit of the back and tail as they ascend after gulping a bug but they never bust out of the water with the enthusiasm or sense of urgency like those little guys.

I threw a few casts with a small parachute Adams and got a few of those little guys to eat but I wanted that one right along the bank and I figured if I got one good cast over him with a big bug, he'd eat it.

I changed to a March brown and started stripping off a bunch of line. The run in between us was pretty deep; dropping off immediately from the bank and moving quick. The river wasn't particularly wide at that point but still a good 65 feet from where I was to the seam that guy was staged on. Those of you that know me, know casting long distances isn't my strong point. I'm OK but I'm no Lefty Kreh. I gave myself about a 50/50 shot at actually putting a bug on this fish.

The bank I was on was pretty high and once in the water, even though I might be able to get a few feet closer, the vantage point was compromised and with waste deep water rushing by, it just wasn't worth it to cut the distance by only a few feet so I stayed on top of the bank and started false casting and feeding line out. Once I figured I had just enough line I built up a little momentum with an extra haul and let it go.

After fly fishing for a while, one gets a good feel of how much line they are carrying and you can start judging distance with having a feel for the load on the rod and you'd be surprised at how accurate you can get. However, I'm calling it straight up luck because when I let that first cast go, it landing perfectly on the seam my guy was eating on and seeing that big bug in front of his nose, he just couldn't resist. He wasn't at all shy about it either. He absolutely came out of his skin to inhale my bug and what was even more impressive, (and obviously total luck,) I didn't rip it out of his mouth like I've done a million times before.

It's such a good feeling when your line comes tight on a fish and as the rod-tip comes up and the line pulls off the water, it looks like a zipper ripping open. And much like a teenager seeing that zipper open, you feel the rush of blood and adrenaline shoot through your veins and it takes everything you have to try to contain the excitement and play it cool. It's pretty awesome and even if you don't bring the fish to the net, it's all so worth the price of admission.

Yesterday was fun in spite of the weather. It was a little chilly and snowy but at least the wind wasn't blowing. I caught a few fish and got some really good bug shots. This is such a great time of the year and walking back to the truck, I was actually a little grateful I didn't have clients. I know it sounds selfish but those kind of days are rare for an outfitter and as much as I like to facilitate days like these for clients and I definitely like to make money, I also like to keep a few for myself.

Keep 'em where they live...