Friday, August 29, 2014

Lots of Bugs, One Fish, and a Quick Look at Patagonia's Foot Tractor Wading Boots

My wife and I rarely skip going to the gym during the week.  But, we've had a lot of hard workouts the past couple weeks and we decided to skip it last night.  We tried to get out of Burlington as quickly as possible, to get home early for once.  Traffic was a nightmare, but we made it to the highway eventually.

On the way home, I decided I was going to sneak out for a little bit of fishing.  I opened a weather app on the way home and was disheartened to see that sunset was at 7:36.  It was at 8:00 not that long ago.

I got home and got my gear together as quickly as I could.  I ditched the mono leader that caused me problems last time out.  I took a best guess on what flies would work, going with a Prince nymph trailed by a baetis nymph.  I got this all done as quickly as possible and left for the river at 6:45.  I got there at 7:00 and got my waders on.  I also had my new Patagonia Foot Tractor wading boots (online review here).

I mentioned recently that Orvis was amazing with their customer service when my left wading boot fell apart.  Regretfully, as I looked around for new boots, the best deal I could find on a sufficient boot was not an Orvis boot.  I will give the refund I'm getting from Orvis back to them in business.  I think I owe them that based on how they treated me.  But, after reading reviews and checking prices, I chose a non-Orvis boot.  But, they sell plenty of other things I can use on the water.

I ordered the boots in my true shoe size based on online recommendations and that was clearly the right size.  They slipped on quite easily and laced easily.  Despite their reputation for being a heavy boot, they are lighter than my previous boots.  I did slip on grass going downhill to the river, but once in the water, I was amazed at how them gripped rocks that felt slick the last time I fished this section.  I was instantly sold on them in the water.  For hiking, probably not.  But for in-water safety, I am simply sold.  They were comfortable and supportive.  I hope they are durable, but time will tell there.

I had a limited amount of time, so I decided to work three holes in the 75 or so minutes that I had.  The first hole typically generates some action, and I'd hooked a big fish on a prince nymph the last time I was here.  As I started to cast, I was watching the air and the water surface.  At first, I noticed the caddis.  Then, I saw there were a number of small BWOs as well.  Midges are always there.  But, bit by bit in the fading light, I started to notice isonychia duns.  Just a couple at first, but then more.  They were big too.  Regretfully, I had just ordered some isonychia flies from the Vermont Fly Guys, but they haven't arrived yet.  I worked the nymphs I had started with and kept my eyes open for any surface feeders.

Surprisingly, the first hole produced nothing at all.  No surface feeders and no strikes.  The last time I fished here, I not only hooked a big fished, but watched another good sized fish rise at least half a dozen times.  So, I moved up to the second hole.  This is where the new boots were really amazing.  For this second hole, it's really nice to get pretty far out to get a clean drift, and you are wading in fast water.  Normally, I stop short of where I'd like to cast because I'm concerned about the safety.  Last night, it felt safe and easy to go the whole way out.

I had one soft strike on my second or third cast, but I missed the set.  Then, a good sized brown cleared the water, going after something.  I stopped fishing for a while to see if he would return.  As I waited for the fish to rise again, I was trying to decide between an Elk Hair Caddis, a BWO, or something to approximate an iso, if needed.  A Dark Hendrickson was probably the best I had in that department.  While I was waiting, a smaller fish rose a few times well downstream.  I finally gave up on the big fish returning and made a few more casts with my nymphs.  Nothing, so I moved upstream to the most productive of the three holes.  I worked the lower part of the hole, that sometimes gives up wild brookies, but no luck.  As I got near the top, I missed one fish on a subtle strike.

I also saw another good sized fish rise, but after waiting a while, that one didn't return either.  As I got to the top of the hole, I hooked and landed one small wild rainbow.  He had taken the baetis nymph.  Shortly after releasing this fish, I noticed three different fish rising.  Two were clearly small and rose multiple times.  The third was far away and would have been difficult to reach with a cast.

It was getting dark, so I started back downstream.  I fished down to where I started, staying there until the last bit of light had faded away.  Near the end, the bugs were all gone, the fish weren't biting and it was just me a and a bunch of bats flying above me in the air.

So, 75 minutes, three soft strikes, one small fish, some fish to the surface but I stuck with nymphs, my first iso's of the season, the boots seem like they'll work, and it was a good day.

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