July 26, 2016

July 26, 2016

The Trico hatch remains strong on the field water of the Double R Ranch, depending on where you are. A Beat which is fantastic one day may not be memorable the next. My advice is to pick your favorite Beat, be observant and fish the hatch you encounter. Also, I’d fish a 7X leader in the morning because both the Tricos and the Blue Winged Olives are small.

This morning there was zero wind, for the most part. I ran into a nice Trico hatch which had the trout in pods. Size 22 and 24 flies were more productive than larger offerings but it is hard to land a fish on such tiny imitations. My friend Tom’s black bodied Trico Sparkle Dun with an elongated gray Zelon shuck and a female Trico spinner (cream abdomen, black thorax, poly wings) were on the end of my leader most of the time.

When the Trico hatch died down and the trout separated from the pods there were a quantity of BWO spinners on the water and the trout were slurping them down. Before I saw the BWO spinners I had tied on a Callibaetis Hen Winged spinner but nothing happened so I switched to a #20 BWO Hackle Stacker which the trout liked. The fish were still feeding when I got off the water around 11:30. 

The weather forecast for the rest of the week involves high temperatures in the 90s or high 80s. I suspect that this heat and the lack of cloud cover will lead to excellent Callibaetis activity as well.

The sun and heat should also strengthen the damsel hatch. When you first see a few damsels in the air, consider drifting a damsel nymph imitation close to the reeds on which the damsels climb and emerge.

Members, remember to call or email me to make a reservation for Allen McGee’s soft hackle seminar which starts at 2:00p.m. on Monday, August 8 at the Picabo Store.

Doug Andres, Stream Keeper, Double R Ranch