al simpson
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Hit the South again yesterday. sunny, warm, water warmed to 50 degrees, at 235 CFS, a bit above average. scant hatches of caddis and midges; no surface action. Subsurface action remains good!
I returned today, this time in the morning, and fished a different section of the river near the nursery. The water continues to clear; visibility now 18-20 inches. Hatches, yes HATCHES, were on by 9 am- black midges, #16 tan caddis and #12-14 black caddis. I fished a #14 black caddis pupa pattern. The trout liked it- with many takes as the fly rose toward the surface. The rainbows were in the 10-12 inch range; so far, I haven’t seen any multi-year holdovers, and suspect that most perished in the fall drought last year.
alTried the South River (Lyndhurst area) again, in the afternoon. Spring is working it’s way in, and the temp was in the 70’s. The water is clearing; visibility about 12″. A scant caddis hatch was present; mostly gray. No rising fish, but I caught several 10-12″ rainbows on a black, soft hackle nymph pattern.
although the flow, 300 cfs, is 50% greater than normal, 200 cfs, I’m in fly fishing withdrawal, and went over to check out the section near Lyndhurst. unfortunately, the water was the color of pea soup- it will be a few more days at least before most of our rivers will be in good fishing shape!
With the temperature in the low 50’s, I headed for Mossy Creek this afternoon. The water level was ok, and only a little off color; the skies were cloudy and a fog came off the snow-covered ground. Unfortunately, the only robust hatch was the fly fisher hatch! There was a scant midge hatch, the bugs substantially smaller than my size #22 flies; the hoped for olive hatch never happened. I saw no rising fish, and deferred fishing streamers, so it was a few hours of practice in preparation for spring, which surely must be just around the corner here in Virginia!
