Dry Fly Success

Obey River, Saturday, March 31, 2007. Considering that natural trout feed underwater seventy percent of the time and stocked trout even more due to their incubation in hatchery runways, the fact that I landed a nine inch stocked rainbow on the top was a big deal. No fishing partner, pain in my back and legs and a broken rod tip was not enough to send me home. Even with all of the bad, I felt that this was the day. At 90 minutes, I was spent and decided to give it another 30 minutes before I left. I saw the trout begin to feed from the top in the usual twenty-yard pattern. I quickly tied an 18 hogs hair and trailed a mosquito at six inches on seven x. The river was floating a large slick of leaves and tree buds that had fallen into the stream. The fish were feeding within the debris, but mostly on the back and front sides. I noticed a pronounced pattern of hits on the front side of the debris, closest to me, within six inches of the debris. I floated the flies down the edge of the debris fifteen to twenty times. I then added a 20 parachute yellow on seven x; a third fly. I thought the presentation was much better that two. I had no strikes on the two fly rig and tied the yellow as an attractor. It worked. Within three casts the water parted and the flies were gone. I lifted the rod. Fish on. I stripped the line in cautiously. I could tell it was a larger fish and I did not want the line to break or to lose the fish due to carelessness. I landed it. I was surprised to find the fish took the mosquito. It was a 22 mosquito that was very realistic. It looked so real, I held it for three months because I hated to lose it. I learned that the fish was picky and did not go for the largest fly. This was continued good luck with multiple fly rigs.