If This is Monday, Who Needs the Weekend!

Got the water about 9am. Decided to hike to the top of the upper section and started where the two smaller streams flow together to form the Jacob's Fork. Above the confluence is wild trout water. I looked it over, lots of plunge pools, very steep on one side and cascading, who knows, maybe when delayed harvest ends I'll take a walk up one of those and see what it's about. I had missed a big brown in the first big hole my last time out... (Hey, I don't think I posted one of my outings...gotta check that out- ok, I checked, I haven't missed one, I didn't go last week- no wonder I had to get out today).

Anyway, I stumbled and fell down before I even made a cast, did one of those nice sit down falls where water runs down your back- that's always a fun way to start the day. I had hits on the first two casts and hooked numbero uno on the third cast. That is such a great way to start- gets you focused real quick. It's hard to go the first hour with out any action.

Spent a lot of time working down the upper section, up until noon or so, and only caught 3 or 4 fish. The whole time I was using a bead head black woolly bugger. Caught two stripping and one on the dead drift after he missed it on the first pass. I think that area has really been picked over. So as it started warming up and as I was getting close to the parking lot I decided to go check out the middle section at the rangers house.

Soon as I put in at the trampoline there were brookies stacked up in the runs. The egg pattern worked as usual, and it's amazing how you can take fish one right after the other from a small run and the ones left will scatter for a bit and then reconvene and you can just pick them off one at a time. By now it had warmed up nicely and I lost the fleece and a thick mayfly hatch started coming off. Trout (smaller ones, but still...) where rising at the top of the pool and I frantically put on a size 18 adams - but they were having none of it, rising around it but ignoring it. So I switched up to a tiny (24??) little adams looking fly and flicked it out there 5 or 6 times, same results. Thought it might be the color, both had light bodies, put on a black body fly 24 or 26- teeny, hard to thread the tippet. Even so, on that flat water it was very distinguishable. Alas, same result. By now the hatch had slackened so I tied back on the egg to drown my sorrows. I still hadn't taken any of the bigger fish and on the first cast a big dog flashed from nowhere (under the ledge of the long overhanging rock I was standing on) and hammered the fly. Ok, here's my great photo op, so as I'm playing the trout and trying to take out the camera to get some live footage, he runs up stream and pops me off!!!! Drat.

I took a couple more smaller trout with my last egg pattern and then decided to see what was cooking in the upper pools. Caught a couple in some pocket water as I made my way up and at the gorge caught 3 decent fish, but couldn't get the bigger ones interested. Slick rock was looking good with 8 or 9 nice brookies on the far bank. I skirted it, saving it for last and went up to Christian's pool. This big pool had 10 or 12 nice size fish in it and I cast my egg to them a couple of times but didn't do anything. I'd kind of gotten tired of catching them on the egg and really wanted to see if I could get a take on one of the minute dries at slick rock, so I headed back down there.

Trout were rising, but seemed to only be juvies and I made one cast with the egg (one last cast before I switch up) and bang, nail an average size fish and again as I'm wresting the camera out, pop, he breaks me off. So I sat down in my favorite lounge chair and chilled out for a while. Tried to take pictures putting my glasses over the camera lens to see it cut the glare and I think it did, see the attached photo where you can make out the brookies of slick rock lined up like a U-Boat armada.

So I decided that was that. I was tired, had caught 15-20 trout, and need to be back to take Morgan to vball practice. But instead of bushwhacking straight up hill to the road, I ambled down stream, doing the accompanying walk n talk- that's pretty cool. When I got back down to the trampoline hole I noticed a large trout at the bottom of the pool with an egg stuck in it's top tip.

Try as I might, I could not get it interested in another egg (whatever happened to two eggs over easy), or a couple of woolly's, so I caught one last consolation fish and broke down and headed home.

Luckily, when I got home I had the polypro gloves from Pablo waiting for me and he had graciously included a bunch of easter eggs in the packet- good on ya mate.

On the gear front, didn't have anything new for this outing. The low profile chest pack I ordered last week hasn't arrived, so that'll be the test for next week (already got that one on the calendar, Thursday, put it down). Lost my dang clippers- DOH! Hate it when that happens.... The video never does the stream justice. This is absolutely beautiful water, but I have to admit, there were times today when I felt a little stale with this water. Need to mix it up a little. I've heard the stream that flows around Mt. Mitchell golf course is loaded with trout and the other day, a nice old gentleman who I helped with a city issue invited me to play golf at Mt. Mitchell because his son runs it... don't care about hitting a golf ball out there, but maybe flicking a fly. Gonna call him back tomorrow.