A New Favorite Section?

Took the "rook" out to Jfork. Hit the rangers house section. When we first put in at the shed, I spotted a group of specks in a shallow run- perfect! But after drifting 2 microscopic flys over them I only got some tepid interest. The rook went up ahead a ways and with his 9' rod was finding it challenging to stay in water instead of adlers. I decided to move up and gave him a wide berth with lots of fishable water. After finding no fish in big run, deep hole, slick rock and Christain's pool, I was scratching my head. The water was really high, but gin clear, and slick rock had a totally different look and current to it. We decided to venture further up and see what else was going on. We stopped at the camp ground and looked around but saw no fish so we went up to the last parking lot and looked around and there were a number of fish in the run just upstream from the viewing platform. There were also a number of fisherman milling around at each of the stops, so it was obvious that DWR had made a visit and jobs were taking a back seat to casting.

After a few refusals the Rook reminded me that the guy at the orvis shop and sold him and insisted that egg and egg variations were the way to go. So I tied on an egg and fished it on top like a dry and on the second cast a speck came up and gently nibbled it- wham, a miss. Next cast, fish on! First fish of 09. I took about 8 out of that run. The rook was struggling. I moved up, this is the upper section, which I fished once last year with great success. This is pure dryfly water, shallow and plenty of runs. The fish where spread out nicely. On one section I found a nice rocky cut bank with a narrow run.... Looked like a good Brownie lair. I bounced the egg off the rock and as it eased down the channel a big head came up and then a second head shot up to snatch it from the first- whoohooo, but a miss. Next drift another flash but nothing, then third drift and here he came a thick trout casually took it in and we were off. Turned out to be another speck, but much larger than the others so far. And so it went.

The sun dipped below the trees and the air took on it's March chill and I ended up at a middling deep pool taking trout on the first 9 casts, twice two fish fought for the fly. A brown lost it's mind, tired of seeing his aggressive speck cousins one up him and actually came out of the water and took the fly on the way down! It was an absolute free for all. Most the fish ran about 13", with enough girth to bend your rod and keep you from pulling them out of the water. I got to the point where I was talking to them, fondly expressing my appreciation and complimenting them on their style of take and beating their brethren to the prize. Eventually my hands were freezing and the sun had wained and the rook was no where around. I kept waiting for him to round the bend and come into sight where if he hadn't taken fish I could put him into my spots, but he never came. So I got up on the trail and hoofed it back to the parking lot. He was in the first hole where I started and had caught two fish. He'd lost his egg pattern early on and nothing else much was working.

All in all, a great day! 30+ specks in a couple of hours. I could do this tomorrow and the next day, and the day after! Season has arrived. Until June I'll have easy access on many an afternoon to some eager brookies. Eventually I'll find a full day and get back to the wild water, see what's going on there, but for now, the J Fork is my honey.