Well, with the low water here, we’ve had to abandon the small stream fishing. In fact, rivers that were impossible to cross for all of last year’s trip are, in fact, small streams this year. So, last year’s mid to large rivers are this year’s small streams. Things change and adjustments need be made. Rain hit mid island and areas further south, we persist further north and along the coast. The fish are on their way downstream for sure. We fished one stream reach last week and encountered 7 trout, then fished it again 2 days later to see 2 fish. As the creek is 6 feet wide and you can see everything, the fish are dropping out quickly. We also fished one small stream from previous years and found ourselves fishing follow up to someone the day previous. As anticipated, we saw few fish as they had dropped into the main river, and the few fish that lingered were comatose. One fish I snuck up to within 18” – it held on the upstream side of a boulder and I sidled up behind to take this shot of it as it rested. Perhaps my favorite shot of the trip thus far.
The fishing remains good, with some temperamental days. It’s another good learning experience, with late summer conditions in early summer. There is no rain in the 10 day forecast and adjustments to fishing plans continue to evolve. Some nice fish are being caught, but when the water is 70F as the river flows out from the mountain gorge, you have to change things up to be fair to the fish. Like Timothy Treadwell screamed out in Grizzly Man “We need Rain!” Well, it`s not that bad - just have to look around a little.
