With the cooler than average temperatures and one big rainfall this week, the White was in good shape for fishing this past weekend. I got out late yesterday afternoon, hoping to take advantage of the cloud cover to get an early start. I parked downstream from where I usually fish, hoping to explore one new stretch of water. I found some nice pocket water in the lower stretches. For the most part, I was guessing on what flies to use. The White is way different than the Otter or New Haven, where you can flip over a rock, inspect the insects, and make a good guess on what flies to start with. I started with a double rig of a Montana Prince and an BWO nymph. I got a few strikes in the lower reaches and finally landed one small rainbow on the prince nymph.
Early on, the insect life was pretty limited. There were plenty of midges, but nothing was rising to them. I saw a few Tricos as well, and a couple BWOs. But, with no surface action, I stayed underwater with the nymphs. After a while, I switched to a different BWO nymph - the RS2 - as my trailer. But, it seemed that the fish only cared about the Montana Prince.
Eventually, I headed upstream to one of my favorite stretches of the river. It's a series of 4 holes. The lower hole has never been very productive for me. The second often has some fish on the surface and it has a really nice seam where fish congregate. The third hole is small, but I always get a strike or two there. The fourth "hole" is really a long, deep stretch with decent fishing in the lower part, but the fishing just gets better as you move to the top of the hole. It's also a hole that holds wild brookies, which are not common that far down on the White.
As usual, the first hole yielded nothing, so I moved to the second.
I waded in to the first good access point and fished for about 15 minutes with nothing at all. So, I moved upstream and that's where things started to happen. On my first cast from the new spot, something slammed my fly. I set the hook and could feel a couple head shakes and then the fish was gone. Regretfully, the fish snapped me off, and it felt like a good fish. I re-tied the same two flies and things were quiet for a while. Well, except for one decent rainbow that was feeding on the surface. He cleared the water completely 3 times and I saw him rise another half dozen times. But, he was wandering all over the place, with no consistency to the rises. I also couldn't figure out what he was feeding on, so I stuck with my nymphs.
Suddenly, while watching for the surface feeder, I had another strike. I set the hook and nothing. I brought my fly rig in to inspect it and both flies were gone again. WTF? But, I did suddenly think about something. I almost always fish fluoro leaders, although I carry nylon/monofilament for dry fly hatches. A few trips ago, I was fishing mostly on the surface and I needed a new leader, so I put on a mono leader. To be honest, I was in a small creek fishing for small fish, so I grabbed an older leader from my vest. I think we all have those - leaders that have been in the vest for a long time and eventually, you get around to using them. A couple years ago, I tied on an Umpqua leader that might have been 20 years old and caught two big browns on that leader. Sometimes, you get lucky.
I'm not sure if the leader had degraded with time, or if the new knot I'm using this year (the Double Davy) doesn't work as well with mono as it does with fluoro or if maybe I just tied some poor knots. It is very important to get the Double Davy seated well before clipping so it can't come undone.
But, suddenly, I had lost two fish due to the knot failing. Plus, it was my lead fly, so I was losing two flies at a time. As I was getting ready to tie on another fly, I got a clue to what the one fish on the surface was eating. I saw a few light Cahills come off the water. This was unusual, because they are usually done by mid July or so, but there they were. Maybe the cooler than average weather for the past six weeks has messed up some hatch timing.
So, I tried a light Cahill for a while, but I couldn't seem to get the fly where the fish was. Every time I got a nice float through the zone where I'd last seen the fish, he would rise somewhere else. After 15 minutes or so, I gave up, and I went back to the Montana Prince and RS2 combo.
I moved up to the third hole, and got one strike but failed to hook the fish. From there, I moved up to the bottom of the fourth hole. The wading is a little bit tough here because you have to wade right on the edge of an island and the drop-off is somewhat steep. I was being careful, trying not to kick up too much mud, and trying to not fall in, when my boot felt funny. I looked down and my left boot had come apart. The bottom part of the sole had separated from the rest of the boot everywhere but the tip. I contemplated calling it a day, but this fourth hole is the best of the bunch. I had to fish even though walking/wading was awkward.
Casting is also difficult here, because you are tight to the bank and the bank is about chest level, so back-casting is almost impossible. Roll casting is the way to go here and I worked upstream doing just that. I only had one hit (and missed him) on the way to the top of the hole. At the top of the hole, it is framed by a rock on either side and it's best to wade out so you can keep the fly between those rocks. On my first cast at the top of the hole, I felt my fly simply slow down for a second. I set the hook and brought a decent wild rainbow to the net. This one had taken the RS2.
Two casts later, I had a hard strike, but I failed to hook the fish. It was now heading towards sunset. Some smaller fish were rising just upstream from me, but they seemed too small to be worth the effort, when the hole below me holds some big fish. I was also starting to see some Yellow Sallies, which might explain why the Prince Nymph was working so well, although I probably should have had a different color stonefly pattern on the line. A few casts later, I had another hard strike, and again, I failed to hook the fish. I made about 10 more casts and called it a day, as it was getting dark and I still had to get downstream to my car with a messed up boot. As I reeled in my line, I discovered that my flies were gone. A third distinct knot had failed on that last strike. Altogether, I probably lost $20 worth of flies, a handful of fish I should have caught, plus my boot fell apart.
Nonetheless, being able to fish the main branch of the White in August is rare, so it was still a good night. And, I'll go back to a Rio Fluorflex leader before I go out again.
Hatches: A couple BWOs, a few light Cahills, Yellow Sallies at sunset, lots of tricos and midges. Only a limited amount of surface action. All of my strikes came underwater on Beadhead Montana Prince Nymphs - size 14 and 16, except one on a size 14 dark olive RS2. No Isonychia, but they should start showing soon. And, the BWOs should start to become more plentiful shortly.
P.S. - I sent Orvis a note about my wading boots. I still have a 20 year old pair of Simms boots that are in great shape. I can't use them in VT any more because of their felt soles, but I use them in PA when I visit there. They probably have 2-3 times more days on them than the Orvis boots that just fell apart. I'm hoping Orvis will offer me some kind of repair or return on the boots. I didn't mention the leader issues in my message.
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