October 27TH Double R Fishing Report "End of Season"

Friday, October 24, 2014:

This is my final blog entry of the season.   I have been somewhat remiss in blogging at times, not because I was too busy fishing, but rather because my computer’s “mother board” self-destructed in August and about two weeks ago I had  trailer fire and have been preoccupied packing the contents to move them to  replacement trailer in Oregon.  I vow to be more diligent next season.  If you get a chance, email any suggestions you might have regarding what information you would like to see in my blog next season.  Is it just fishing reports?  Fly tying tips?  Fly recipes?  Fishing strategies?  Fish tales?  Stories about other Members?

We’ve certainly had an interesting season on the Double R Ranch.  To be honest, I began to tear when I saw how low the creek was upon my arrival in mid-April.  Word was that the fishing would suffer on the Ranch but, in the view of many, we had some of the best June fishing in memory.  While only the lower 6 “beats” were fished early season, the renovated Pond provided expanded water to fish and rising trout were dependable, provided the wind stayed down.  We received a pleasant surprise in the form of a Green Drake hatch the first 5 days of the season.  My opinion is that the nymphs came down with the silt from the Pond Project; now that we’ve “seeded” the Ranch water and lowered the water temperature I believe there is a good chance that the Green Drake hatch will be an annual event.  We got up to normal creek levels at the end of July as soon as the Water Master shut down surface irrigators up valley, and I felt that life had begun anew!  I firmly believe that had the Pond Project not lowered water temperatures by 4 degrees when we moved to 85 percent bottom release, we would have seen fish kills during the summer.  To my observation the Pale Morning Dun hatch was brief but denser this season, and the Trico hatch was scattered but present on the Ranch water for quite some time.  We saw very few Damsels this season, perhaps because of the lower water temperature.  Next season be on the lookout as we very well could experience fishable hatches of “Sulfur” mayflies and Gray Drakes, due to the lowered water temperatures. 

The most difficult fishing of the season was experienced during our two Indian summers when the unseasonably warm temperatures retarded the hatches of Fall Baetis and Mahogany Duns.  But, the cold fall temperatures have arrived and two days ago I ran into what I felt was the first legitimate hatch of Fall Baetis, ranging from a #16 to a #18.

I want to personally thank all the Members who contributed to my “Silver Creek Willow Project” which kicked off at the Members’ Barbecue and continued through the summer.  We raised a total of $4,000 which will buy us 196 five gallon buckets of rooted willows (four varieties) 25 gray alders, plus 8 shade trees (two each to be planted at the access points with picnic tables and the toilet).  Next April the plants will be installed in appropriate locations from Beat 6 down to Beat 1, the willows in the Canary Grass and the Gray Alders in the streamside sedge.  I am optimistic that over time these plantings will go a long way towards providing shade and refuge for fish up against the bank, will help cool the water and will provide wind breaks for the angler.  I will personally defray the cost of spraying rings of fish safe herbicide in the Canary Grass which can often out-compete young willows.

Last week I spread a pound of Wild Blue Flax seed, a native wild flower which has done well when seeded elsewhere along Silver Creek.  Next spring I will be raising yellow Monkey Flowers and Indian Paint Brush from seed and planting them in the moist riparian zone; most spring creeks feature wild flowers like these and they are a delight to me.

Next season, in conjunction with Picabo Anglers, I am going to present two seminars focusing on aquatic entomology pertinent to the Ranch water and related fly selection.  Several Members have told me that they would benefit from information regarding the succession of insect hatches through the season and some fly patterns addressing particular situations.  The Double R Ranch Fishing Club wants to do what it can to maximize Members’ fishing experience.  When we have dates and times we will be sure to get that information out to you.

Over the winter I will be drawing up plans for several access improvements, both boardwalks and hand rails, to be installed along the newly renovated Pond.  Any ideas regarding location or design would be appreciated.  I want to make the Pond accessible to every Member.

If you have any suggestions for improving the experience on the Double R Ranch, pop me off an email or give me a phone call.

Thanks, again, for another great season on the Double R Ranch.  I look forward to seeing all of you next season. 

Doug Andres

(503) 939-7657

dougandres.whenpigflies@gmail.com {C}

October 6TH Double R Fishing Report

Monday, October 6, 2014:

The past several days on the Ranch water there has been a Blue Winged Olive hatch around 2:00 in the afternoon and a Mahogany Dun hatch around 3:30 p.m. and the sporadic appearance of those bugs here and there most afternoons before the height of the hatch.  Oh, there have also been some rising fish in the morning, probably feeding on a few BWO duns or spinners.  I suspect that this pattern will continue on these warm days before the weather takes a turn for the south.  Guys are also scoring on beetles.

Yesterday afternoon I went out around 3:00 in search of the Mahogany Duns.  As soon as I hit the water the breeze came up.  I could see a few Mahogany Duns but they were getting blown off and the rise form of the trout indicated fish swirling below the surface.  So, I tied on a #18 Pheasant Tail soft hackle tied with red dyed pheasant tail fibers which made it a good match for the Mahogany nymph.  I ended up having an epic afternoon on the soft hackled flies, hooking 12 trout, landing 8 Rainbows up to 17 inches and missing several nice “tugs.”  I’ll be out there this afternoon!

Doug Andres

Stream Keeper 

October 3RD Double R Fishing Report

Friday, October 3, 2014:

FISHING REPORT:

The first of what I suspect will be an extended period of great fall fishing.  I got on the field water with a friend around 2:00 p.m. and we encountered  a nice hatch of #20 Baetis, which I “matched” with a #20 green bodied Female Trico No Hackle for just one fish.  After some frustration I switched tactics, changing over to a #20 soft hackle which I swung in front of “swirling” fish, hooking up once.  About 3:45 p.m. a really good Mahogany Dun hatch came off and the fish started to get greedy around 4:15 p.m. when my friend had to start his drive to Salt Lake City so I had to leave the feeding fish.  So, the afternoon may be when you’ll want to get down to the Ranch water.

Back by popular demand . . . . . 

ON MISSIONARY POSITION FLY FISHERS.  

Most of us know at least one fly fisherman who will only tie on dry flies.  Some of Them will only cast to rising trout.  Some of Them will only cast in an upstream direction.  Some of Them will only cast to individual rising fish.  Some of them will only fish Dun patterns, eschewing cripples, emergers or even Knock Down Duns.  Some of Them aren’t even English, or of aristocratic lineage.  Some of you are Them.  Some of you aren’t Them but have Them angler friends whom you perceive to be a bit snooty.  And, you can’t understand how a fly fisherman would rather not catch fish, or even cast a line, if a dry fly is not attached to his leader.  You feel the whole thing puts too much pressure on taking a friend out on your favorite productive water.  You’ve tried to communicate the joy of hooking large territorial Brown trout on streamers, large soft hackles and other “meaty” flies.  You don’t know what to think of Them, or how to deal with Them on a consistent basis.

I call them Missionary Position Fly Fishers, because they only fish On Top.

Hey, I’m not one of Them but I’ve known or run into my fair share of Them.  I used to be somewhat intolerant of Them, but have now found Peace.

At the end of productive morning on the Henry’s Fork I asked a guy at the Last Chance access how his day had been.  With a deep frown he told me that he had not made a single cast because “there were no Risers.”  I ran into him the next day around Noon and he related the same experience, appearing a bit more disappointed than the previous day.  On the third day he was elated, having cast to three fish, albeit without a hook up.  

The next year at the Wood Road access on the Henry’s Fork I approached the boat ramp in my float tube and came upon a half dozen dudes from Japan, all standing on the bank obviously on the lookout for rising fish.  I wanted to fish the usually productive water in front of them but didn’t want to cause an international incident, so I just left the river.  I made the same float the next morning and came upon the same contingent engaged in the same observation mode with fly in keeper.  After sitting in my tube for a half hour enjoying lunch and a cigar, I decided to push the tube out past what I felt was reasonable casting range and fished my Who Knows Freaking Why soft hackle further out into the Henry’s Fork, landing a half dozen spirited Henry’s Fork rainbows in 20 minutes.  I heard one guy remark to his companions that I was a very good fly fisher.  As walked past them back to my shuttle car I asked in my broken Japanese whether they wanted to see the fly I had been using.  As they eagerly approached me I was thinking that this could be the start of a bond, then, one of them appeared disappointed and said to me, “Wetto fry.”  I felt like I had been caught fishing a nymph downstream on an historic English caulk stream not wearing Tweed.  

Perhaps my most Immaculate Deception was conversing with recently deceased Bob Evans who fished the Henry’s Fork more than a hundred days a season, but only with the Dry Fly.  Bob was a great mentor to dozens (perhaps hundreds) of developing anglers over the years, taught me a lot and gave me numerous shuttles in return for one of my home baked pies.  But, he was rumored to break off all communication if he found out that you fished the Dreaded Nymph.  Bob died without discovering my affinity for fishing soft hackles subsurface (sometimes blind rather than in front of working fish!)  One of my deepest regrets is having deceived such a fine person (even more so than lying to my ex-wife when it was occasionally necessary to explain my late returns from fishing trips).   

My best friend in these parts is one of Them; he will only cast dry flies to individual working fish and will not run a dry fly through a pod of fish, even during a Trico hatch.  Over the years we’ve had a number of spirited discussions about what I refer to as his “problem.”  We’ve long past the Pedestrian and have elevated the debate to a more lofty search for Truth and a focus on Entomological Integrity.  I’ve taken the postulated that the selection of a fly which does not imitate the current stage of the insect being preyed upon by the trout is wholly lacking Integrity.  (It was relatively easy for us to come to this fundamental understanding because we both disdain “attracter” dry flies.)   I have pointed out that many anglers incorrectly assume that the “ring in the rise” is always made by a trout taking a dun, or at least cripple or emerging dun in the film.  At the early stage of the hatch the rise form is often a swirl made by a trout nipping away at nymphs well under the meniscus.  From this I have urged my good friend that fishing a dry pattern to trout swirling for the nymphal stage of mayflies involves no more Integrity than blindly swinging a soft hackle under hovering clouds of White Miller Caddis or, even worse, blind.  I convinced my friend that fishing a Pheasant Tail soft hackle to fish swirling for PMD nymphs might very well be using a proper imitation of a specific stage of the insect, provided that the presentation was in harmony with the situation and gave him a selection of small soft hackles which he used with success, once.  

The ungainly debate between us rages on, although we become less passionate about The Controversy as seasons come and go.  In the course of these discussions I have learned a lot from my friend, and a lot about my good friend, both about angling and about Life.  While most of us arrive at the juncture where it is not the landing of fish which is important and we are more focused on mere hooking of trout by whatever means possible, my friend has attained a rare purity of satisfaction which comes from hooking a solitary trout on a fly he can see.  While it is either not for me, or I am evolving at a snail’s pace, I respect his Quest and his Arrival.  We should all respect Missionary Position Fly Fishermen, even if their stated preference may not involve my friend’s Zen principles.  After all, it’s just fishing. 

Doug Andres

Stream Keeper

October 2ND Double R Fishing Report "WILLOW PROJECT UPDATE"

Thursday October 2, 2014:

The weather was just too nice to spur the fall insects to hatch in force.  It was warm and sunny the first half of the day and just a few Blue Winged Olives were hatching in the morning with a few fish rising to them.  Mid-afternoon brought out a similarly sparse hatch and a buddy and I fished during the rather strong afternoon breeze.  We had just a few rises on a BWO dry then I scored a 14 inch Rainbow swinging a #14 Pheasant Tail soft hackle tight against the bank.  It took a hot shower, several Bourbons and a hot meal for me to warm up.

WILLOW PROJECT UPDATE:

Progress continues to be made on my “Silver Creek Willow Project.”  Members and others have now contributed a total of $4,000, which will enable the Club to purchase the equivalent of 265 five gallon buckets of rooted willows.  

I recently was accompanied in a site inspection by Jeff Klausmann of Intermountain Aquatics, based out of Driggs, Idaho, which will be the vendor of the plants and trees we will install on the banks of Silver Creek on the Double R Ranch next April.  The mission that day was to determine where particular species of shrubs would be planted.  I learned that willows and other native plants used for re-vegetation need to be planted in specific locations along the slope down to the creek bank, in order to achieve the proper amount of moisture.  Jeff advised that, in essence, willows could be planted where the streamside Canary Grass is located and that areas containing Sedge would have to receive River Birch.  The Canary Grass can potentially out compete newly planted willows so later this month Intermountain Aquatics will return to spray round circles in the Canary Grass with environmentally safe herbicide.  I will personally cover the cost of the herbicide spraying and related flagging; 100 percent of the contributions to the Willow Project will go towards willows, river birch and 8 shade trees to be planted, 2 each, at the take outs at Beats 1, 3, 4 and 5.  Your Stream Keeper will arrive in Picabo at the beginning of April so that he is able to supervise the delivery and planting of the willows, river birch and trees.    

Doug Andres

Stream Keeper

September 30TH Double R Fishing Report "Paraleptophlebia"

Tuesday, September 30, 2014:

In the face of the forecast which called for 17 mile an hour wind, only the strong willed angler fished today.  It drizzled for a while this morning but then the rain subsided, the wind waned and the sun came out and illuminated a partly cloudy sky.  It was a beautiful fall day for maybe an hour before the slight breeze started to climb to gale force gusts.  A few #18 Blue Winged Olives appeared, causing a few trout to rise; no Mahogany Duns were sighted today, much less Callibaetis.  When the wind got strong I switched to a #18 Pheasant Tail soft hackle and picked up a single 15 inch Rainbow by swimming the fly parallel to the bank.  The forecasted wind came up and that’s all she wrote for the day.  Nap time!

MAHOGANY DUNS . . . . !      aka Paraleptophlebia

The relatively large Mahogany Dun mayfly is a welcome blessing each fall after matching our wits with the much smaller Blue Winged Olive and the miniscule Trico.  On Silver Creek this mayfly usually tapes out at a size 14 or a size 16.  Entomologists tell us that water temperatures need to plunge to 50 degrees for several days before Mahogany Duns will hatch but we don’t achieve those temperatures locally.  The daily emergence may start around 10:00 or 11:00 a.m. and can last two, three or more hours, ending between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m.  As with most mayflies, Mahogany Dun hatches last longer on cloudy days and even rainy days, and are condensed into a shorter time period on sunny days.  Mahogany Dun hatches tend to be on the sparse side unless conditions are optimal.

The distinctive feature of this “crawler” mayfly is that it generally resides and emerges along banks, at current seams, in pools, eddies and along the edges of weed beds.  For that reason the beginning of a Mahogany Dun hatch is often not immediately noticed by the angler.  But the Mahogany Dun hatch will often prompt larger trout to move into the shallows and sip daintily.  It is a prescription for exciting and excellent fishing by the more vigilant angler.  

Nymphs.  

The Mahogany Dun nymphs will migrate to the edges of the creek, can live in water just inches deep, and may emerge by crawling out on rocks or vegetation.  The larger and more mature nymphs tend to rest and browse on rooted vegetation and congregate in calmer water where leaves and other detritus accumulate.  The nymphs themselves are such poor swimmers that they may drift a long distance in the current before regaining a hold on the creek’s substrate.  Immediately before hatching the nymphs make an awkward swim to the surface; the duns escape the nymphal shuck in, or just under, the surface film.  The nymphs may make several trips to the surface before hatching.  Thus, there are occasions when fishing a nymph can be productive, including by slowly swimming a brown soft hackle along weed beds and the bank.  Effective nymph patterns include:  the traditional Pheasant Tail nymph; a Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymph; a dark Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle; the Western Red Quill Nymph; the Western Blue Quill Nymph.

Emergers.  

There are times when the angler will notice “bulging” along the shoreline and has to decide whether the rise form involves trout taking emergers or duns.  If you see bubbles in the ring of the rise then observe whether floating duns are being taken or are floating through the feeding lane undisturbed.  If the duns are not being intercepted, then the trout are likely feeding on emergers.  Try one of a number of standard emerger patterns which hold in the film and have dark gray brown bodies, including the “floating nymph” design.  Typical patterns that may be effective in this situation include:  the Western Red Quill Floating Nymph; the Western Red Quill Emerger; the Western Blue Quill Floating Nymph; and the Western Blue Quill Emerger.  Alternatively, one could simply start with a dun pattern and switch to an emerger pattern if the dun pattern does not produce within a dozen casts to the bulging trout.

Duns.  

Duns of this mayfly look like large, slow moving Chinese junks ambling down the creek.  Trout will often take hatched Mahogany Duns in preference to more numerous but smaller Blue Winged Olives.  One excellent strategy is to drift a dun pattern within 6 inches of the edge of a weed bed or the bank.  Due to the fact that the duns hatch in calmer water, it is often beneficial to lengthen one’s leader to 12 to 15 feet and reduce your tippet to 5X or 6X.  Productive dun imitations include: the Mahogany Cut Winged Parachute; the Mahogany Sparkle Dun; the Mahogany Thorax Dun; the Mahogany No Hackle; and the Red Quill and Blue Quill, both of which are Catskill types in design.

Spinners.  

Spinner falls of the Mahogany Dun can be important to the angler who fishes late in the day.  The Mahogany Dun spinners usually swarm in early evening and drop to the water about the time when it becomes difficult to see.  Bring your flashlight and reading glasses so that it is not difficult to change spinner patterns.  Unlike the other stages of the Mahogany Dun discussed above, the spinner can be fished out in open water with equal success.  Two spinner patterns which are effective for just about any mayfly are equally productive when fished at the end of a Mahogany Dun session.  The Blue Quill Spinner’s body is constructed from a stripped peacock quill, its wing is fashioned from white hen hackle tips (tied spent or semi-spent), and the hackle is light blue dun, clipped top and bottom.  The Red Quill Spinner’s body is from a reddish-brown dyed hackle stem, its wings are made from white hen hackle tips (tied spent or semi-spent), and brown hackle is used, clipped top and bottom.           

Doug Andres

Stream Keeper

September 29TH Double R Fishing Report

Monday, September 29, 2014:

Today’s fishing on the Double R Ranch was a mixed bag, in that one’s success depended upon where and when you fished.  A buddy and I fished the field water between 10:00 a.m. and Noon, encountering a few Mahogany Duns and a few Baetis.  We each had strikes on dry imitations for both insects.  I “matched” the #18 Baetis with a #20 green bodied female Trico No Hackle.  After lunch my buddy fished The Pond for an hour and had several strikes on a small olive bodied parachute.  For about 2 hours he fished from the gazebo bridge back down to my trailer and encountered a good hatch of, all things, Callibaetis duns and landed a half dozen fish.  Just goes to show you that one has to be observant and willing to wait out the rain and the breeze.  What tomorrow brings is anyone’s guess.  Look for the hatches to stabilize and become more reliable as the weather improves starting on Wednesday.  

Doug Andres

Stream Keeper

September 28TH Double R Fishing Report "Mahogany Duns"

Sunday, September 28, 2014:

Mahogany Duns . . . !

Yes, it rained most of yesterday and this morning it was chilly, overcast and threatening rain.  Plagued by curiosity, I just had to launch the float tube at Beat #8 of the field water of the Double R Ranch around 10:00 a.m.  No fish were rising and initially no insects were on the water.  But within a half hour my buddy and I started to see some extremely tiny Baetis which were more cream colored than olive.  Then we saw a few Mahogany Duns floating by.  Fish started to take the smaller of the two bugs, within the calm margins left by the slight breeze.  My friend picked up a fat 15 inch Brown on a Mahogany Dun dry, but that was all she wrote for a while.  Around 11:30 a.m. the Mahogany hatch exploded.  They looked like a fleet of Chinese Junks floating through the Hong Kong harbor.  A beautiful sight after weeks of size 22 Baetis, for sure.  I finally landed a Rainbow on my favorite Mahogany parachute.  Fish were rising everywhere and the surface was covered with Mahoganies, but we were frozen to the bone and opted to return to my trailer for some hot soup and the last Mariner game of the season.  

The Fall hatches are upon us, guys and girls.

Doug Andres

Stream Keeper

September 27TH Double R Fishing Report "Fall Fishing"

Saturday, September 27, 2014:

FALL FISHING IS HERE . .  .!

During out ten days of Indian Summer fishing has been challenging no matter where you have fished Silver Creek.  I felt fortunate on those days when I only landed two or three fish.  But, each day was precious because I figured it was the very last day of sunny warm weather.  A couple of days ago I pulled out my cold weather fishing clothing, just in case the weather would finally change.  

On the Double R Ranch down in down in the field we had been experiencing Baetis  spinners followed by duns starting around 9:00 a.m., and lasting for maybe 2 hours if one was lucky.  In the mid to late afternoon there often were rising fish but all I could identify were size 24 Tan Baetis . . . . the Callibaetis seemed to have disappeared.  Then a few Mahogany Duns showed up but the fish did not exactly key on them.  The fish had developed lock jaw.  When my favorite Blue Winged Olive dun and spinner patterns failed I would often turn to a #18 Pheasant Tail soft hackle or my “Who Knows Freaking Why” soft hackle.  We were in the Transitional Doldrums which plague us on Silver Creek a different week each year as we await the great fall fishing.

Well, the weather changed last night.  The forecast is for gray, overcast snotty weather which should bring out those wonderful appetizing Fall Baetis and Mahogany Duns which appear both on the field water and on The Pond.  Also be on the lookout for that species of Baetis which locally is called the “Pistachio Dun.”  It is distinguished by its lime green body and the trout love them; one can often pick up fish with a lime green bodied dun pattern even if the naturals are not on the water. I saw my first Fall Ginger Caddis the other day, about a size 12.   Terrestrial patterns remain a good choice in between hatches and late in the day.

Doug Andres

Stream Keeper

September 18TH Double R Fishing Report "Indian Summer"

Thursday, September 18, 2014:

INDIAN SUMMER MEANS THE LAST DAYS OF COMFORTABLE FISHING

On the Double R Ranch the hatches have been fairly consistent and reliable the past week, while the cooperation of the trout have ranged from willingness to high level lock jaw depending on the day.  

The most reliable bug has been the Callibaetis.  You can pretty much depend on the Callibaetis starting to come off starting round 11:00 a.m. each morning.  Some days the Duns are the first to be sighted while on other late mornings or early afternoons the spinners appear first.  Some days you will encounter simultaneous significant quantities of both Duns and spinners.  Anglers have had success with Dun patterns such as the Parachute Adams, Callibaetis Thorax Dun, gray or tan bodied Comparaduns and Harrop’s Callibaetis No Hackle.  Effective spinner patterns have included the Callibaetis Hatch Matcher and the Poly Winged Spinner.  A good rule of thumb is to fish size 18 in “glass” conditions, size 16 when the wind creates a slight “chop” on the water surface, and size 14 in breezy situations.  

The smallish (size 20-22) Summer Baetis are still thriving during the current Indian Summer.  Mid-morning you are likely to encounter Baetis spinners and/or and emergence of Baetis Duns.  I have taken most of my fish long the edges of the now substantial weed beds and along the riparian vegetation that lines the “real” banks.  I tent to use olive bodied patterns for the emerging duns and rusty brown bodied patterns for the bank sippers which suck down spinners late in the morning just as the Callibaetis get started.  

I have encountered Mahogany Duns on two early evenings thus far.  They have been running at size 16 and their great visibility is a welcome relief from the bugs that make one squint.  Look for this bug to become the Bug of the Day once the weather cools down towards the end of this month and through October, both on the field water and on The Pond.

Doug Andres

Stream Keeper

September 5TH Double R Fishing Report "Transition"

Thursday, September 4, 2014:

Members (and other readers) I apologize for the one month drought in blog entries but the “mother board” of my old computer busted and it took me quite a while to purchase and set up my new lap top.  But, I’m back at it, whatever “it” may be.

FISHING REPORT:

We are now smack in the middle of the “transition” period of the season, i.e. between summer bugs and fall insects.  Many years that portends pretty marginal and unreliable fishing but that is not the case this season.  The trout are rising all over the field water of the Double R and up on The Pond, all day in the absence of wind.  With the great variance in weather one day to the next, we are experiencing an ever changing assortment of mayflies.  There also are 2 inch long grasshoppers next to the field water and some anglers are scoring on large black beetles in the wind.  But, the unanswered question is, “Where are the damsels?”   

Callibaetis has been my favorite hatch to fish these days.  Provided the wind does not get too strong, we have been experiencing Callibaetis action starting as early as 11:00 a.m.  Some days the action begins with a spinner flight followed by a hatch of Duns, some days the order is reversed, and some days they occur simultaneously.  The “naturals” currently are about a size 16.  One tip:  If you are fishing the Callibaetis dun hatch or spinner fall in “glass” conditions (which happens many days around noon for an hour until the wind picks up) one will have greater success with a pattern that is one size smaller, these days a size 18.  I have been using a size 18 Callibaetis Hatch Matcher followed by a size 16 Harrop Callibaetis No Hackle with a salmon colored body.  I’ve heard that Members have been scoring with Callibaetis Emergers. 

Blue Winged Olives (aka “Baetis”) can be a troublesome hatch to fish these days.  The “summer” Baetis have been on the field water for a month and most of us did well with them until the uncharacteristic overcast even rainy conditions of this August became a daily reality.  There are nearly 50 species within the Baetis family and those in the summer group thrive in the heat but hate the cold, rainy overcast weather which makes Fall Baetis explode.  Last night’s frost in Picabo may well be the “opening day” for our Fall Baetis, as I have observed dark gray spinners with brown bodies which are characteristic of some Fall Baetis species.  Tie or buy some spinners with this coloration (if you can find them) or drag out your favorite Rusty Spinner pattern, especially for those after-the-hatch “bank sippers.”

Mahogany Duns are my favorite fall insect and they have just started to appear on the water.  This bug will be the feature of a future blog entry.  They are a size 16.  They are most often seen in the quiet calm margins along the (true) bank or a patch of aquatic vegetation.  On the Ranch they are present both on the field water and on The Pond.  

“Pistachio” Duns.   Members have reported sightings of this unusual Baetis which we see each Fall on the field water, but generally not on The Pond.  You can use just about any dun pattern (Comparadun, Sparkle Dun, etc.) to imitate this unique mayfly, provided the body is made using Rene Harrop’s “Professional Dubbing” in his “Caddis Green” color (or something pretty close tending towards a chartreuse coloration).  Currently the “natural” is running around a size 18 but in the weeks to come the bug will appear in size 16.  

2nd annual “Stream Keeper’s Paella Party.”

Members of the Double R Ranch Fishing Club are invited to my annual Paella Party set to begin at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 13 at the Gazebo.  I will be serving my infamous Paella together with a tomato salad, sliced watermelon, Epi bread and a dessert of Grilled Peaches with Vanilla Ice Cream.  

If you live under a bridge and haven’t encountered Paella before, it is a spicy Spanish rice dish.  I load the rice up with boneless chicken thighs, spicy Italian sausage, shrimp, scallops, crawfish tails and mussels.  

Bring your own adult beverage, soft drink or bottled water.  

If you really feel that you MUST bring something else (always appreciated) an appetizer would be fine.

Come and celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of fine fall fishing.

August 6TH Double R Fishing Report "Found Flies"

Wednesday, August 6, 2014:

Yesterday there was quite a contingent of anglers fishing the field water on the Double R Ranch.  The best thing about the large crowd for a Monday was that they were Able to spread out on the field water because over the past week the creek level has risen to the extent that we are on the verge of being at the normal level for this stage of the season.  The overcast sky and cool temperature brought out the Baetis.  

I recently read an interesting article in the latest issue of Fly Fishing & Tying Journal, authored by Dave Hughes.  The concept underlying the article was his long standing intention to visit a favorite lake without flies, packing only his vise, tools and thread.  His plan was to scrounge up tying materials found on site such as bird feathers, animal fur and the like.  Hughes calls the resulting insect imitations “Found Flies.”  Of course, the article closes with descriptions of the flies he tied out of goose feathers and the trout he snookered using them.  He indicates that this approach to fly angling has become popular in Europe, the continent which brought us bottle water, several world wars and burdensome tax structures.  Dave, I have loved and respected your work over the years but these days you might lay off the John Barleycorn a wee bit.  

Anyway, this hunter-gatherer approach to fly tying has consumed my idle thoughts over the past week and has affected the way I react to Death in Nature.  Now when I see a mouse or vole carcass streamside my thoughts turn to dubbing a BWO nymph.  When I see a deer romping through the willows I envision its flank hair fashioned into Comparaduns.   I increasingly covet Great Blue Herons for their feathers which I imagine would make great spey flies.  I begin to think that by ignoring the lowly Coot as a source of soft hackles we are missing the boat.  I kick myself for not gathering bear underfur from “scratching trees” and incorporating it into Stonefly dubbing.  I wonder what I gems I could tie if I could just find a carcass of an American Bittern which I see and hear often on the Ranch water.  I look upon the Purdys’ sheep in a new light.   

While the concept of Found Flies intrigues me, there are several reasons why I am not likely to take up the challenge.  First, I’d never bring materials gathered in the wild back to my trailer because I probably have $20,000worth of fly tying materials and fear an invasion of the little bugs that can strip a fine rooster neck, bags of saddle hackles and fur.   Second, one needs to recognize the possibility of contracting flu strains from wild birds and other diseases from animals such as Hanta Virus.  Third, I am too damn lazy.

Doug Andres

Stream Keeper

August 4TH Double R Fishing Report "THE PISTACHIO DUN"

Tuesday, August 5, 2014:

Those anglers who put on a rain slick and braved the persistent drizzle enjoyed some fast fishing when the breeze let up and the precipitation waned (at least temporarily).  It was classic Blue Winged Olive weather on the field water but reportedly The Pond was dead as Bin Laden.  The forecast for the next couple of days calls for more of the same, so suit up and gut it out Pilgrim!  

THE PISTACHIO DUN . . . . 

When the weather cools down seriously there is an isolated hatch of a species in the Baetis family which either Bob Turzian or I named The Pistachio Dun.  I’ve seen this rather striking mayfly in September or October on the Double R and also a couple of hundred yards above the Picabo Bridge, so you could encounter it anywhere on Silver Creek.  It looks like the usual Baetis except that the body color is a bright pistachio color and it is a rather large BWO; I fish a size 18.  Just any dry BWO pattern will work during this hatch as long as it bears a pistachio body.  For dubbing I use the “Caddis Green” Professional Dubbing put out by Trout Hunter/Rene Harrop.  I tie it with a light colored wing so that I can easily see the fly.  My favorite design involves wings fashioned from pulled down white CDC. 

Hook:        Daiichi 1110 or standard dry fly hook.

Tail:        Light or medium dun Microfibbets or similar tailing material.

Wings:    Pulled down (reversed tied) CDC, white or light dun.

Hackle:    Grizzly or medium dun Whiting 100 saddle hackle (or similar)

Tip:        After fly is completed, apply head cement to wings for durability.

Doug Andres

Stream Keeper

August 3RD Double R Fishing Report

Monday, August 4, 2014:

ROUGH WEEKEND . . . . . 

Your Stream Keeper had a rough weekend on The Creek.

I haven’t been fishing on Saturdays this season because Members seemed to be avoiding many drifts in the field water due to the low water conditions and I didn’t want to take up one of the precious fishable Beats.  This Saturday I changed my habits because the creek level has come up substantially and because I hadn’t fished in a week due to car trouble.  I launched at the gazebo bridge rather early thinking that the overcast sky and cool morning temperature would portend a great Baetis hatch.  I wore just a tee shirt since I was confident that the sun would break through and that there would be no rain.  Wrong!  I got soaked to the bone.  The trout rose even during the rain and I was looking forward to some great fishing once the rain stopped.  But, I started to feel the onset of hypothermia.  I made a bee line for the takeout behind my trailer, shed my waders and changed into some warm dry clothing.  I should have just stayed in my trailer or gone down to the Picabo Store for breakfast.  Instead, I walked out to the creek and saw trout rising everywhere to Blue Winged Olives.  Darn!

On Sunday morning I took a Guest out to fish Beats 4 through 1.  The wind slacked off early and a warm sun appeared.  There were a few Trico and a few Baetis, but the fish were tough.  For a while the trout liked Mick Halvorsen’s “Duck Butt Dun” in a BWO shade and I liked it as well because I could see its CDC post a mile away in the glare of the sun.  Eventually, the trout just “nosed” the Duck Butt Dun so I switched to a small BWO Sparkle Dun tied by my Guest, Tom Lampl.  The trout liked it but by that time I was off my game due to accumulated frustration.  When the trout changed their preference to Callibaetis I tried to tie on a commercially tied gray Hackle Stacker but the fly was so poorly tied that I could not thread a reasonably sized tippet through the eye so I gave up and went with my own Callibaetis Hatch Matcher.  By then the rising fish had retired for the morning so I gave up and went home to lick my wounds.  Another delightful morning on The Creek!

I did notice a bunch of Damsels on hovering over the water.  My sense is that the Damsel hatch is about to become a big factor on the Ranch water.  It will probably coincide with the demise of the Trico.

Doug Andres

Stream Keeper

July 30TH Double R Fishing Report "Aliens"

Wednesday, July 30, 2014:

Aliens . . . . 

Last night down here in Picabo we had the first significant rain storm since my arrival back in April, about a half inch.  My immediate thought was that it would result in some good Baetis fishing whether the morning was overcast or sunny.  I was bummed that I would not be able to fish because my truck was in the shop overnight getting a new U Joint installed.  Around Noon I spoke with some Members who had experienced an epic morning where the trout were keyed on black bodied male Trico spinners and Tiny Blue Winged Olives.  They both landed a number of plus 18 inch Brown trout.  Of greater interest to me were the two Aliens they encountered late morning.

The first unusual critter was the Sulfur mayfly which I have seen last year and the season before, though not in fishable quantities.  The Sulfur generally has a yellowish body with an orange tinge and pronounced blue wings and is about a size 20.  It is present in good quantities on the three Livingston area spring creeks and may be found on the Conservancy water, but not often on the Ranch water.  I read up on this mayfly several years ago and learned that it requires colder water than we’ve had below the Dam.  However, now that the bottom release capability has resulted in a 4 degree drop in water temperature. I have felt that in a couple of years we may well have fishable quantities of an exciting new summer mayfly.  So, I was thrilled to learn of the first Sulfur sighting of the season and am hopeful that we will see more of them this season and in the future.

The Members also saw a small stonefly-like insect with a brown body and opaque double wings.  My sense was that they had witnessed a flight of termites which I had run into a couple of seasons ago at the beginning of August.  It happened just one day.  Like everybody except the most prepared (or insane) angler, I didn’t have a termite pattern on hand but I scored very well that day on a peacock bodied cricket imitation.  Until I lost both of my cricket flies I landed a half dozen fish up to a 21 inch Brown trout in an hour.  

This just goes to show that you never know what you will encounter on the Double R Ranch water and that one needs to keep one’s eyes open!

July 28TH Double R Fishing Report "Great Blue Heron"

Monday, July 28, 2014:

FISHING REPORT:

This morning was one of those overcast mornings rife with the prospect of opportunity.  Early on the water was like glass, it was cool and uniformly overcast.  I should have been out on the water but slept in because I was recovering from a 4 day reunion with 4 college fraternity brothers and I felt too groggy to fish.  My loss, from what I heard from some more hardy anglers who plied the lower field water on the Double R Ranch.  Early on there were a good number of female Tricos hatching and sparsely tied green bodied Duns were the answer to the puzzle.   Thereafter, the Callibaetis in a size 16 made a strong appearance and one observant Member saw Duns with down wings floating by, and saw some of their wings become upright just before taking off.  To me, that would have been a wonderful sight . . . to see a very short period of the mayfly’s life unfold.  Just before the wind gained strength the Baetis made an appearance; that is, if you can see a size 24 on the water.   The next several days are forecasted to involve cloudy conditions as well, though maybe not as fully overcast and cool as today, so you might be advised to get your float tube out on the field water and The Pond.

ON PATIENCE . . . 

I have long thought that I was the most patient creature in the galaxy.  I say “galaxy” rather than the universe because way deep down I guess I recognized the possibility that someone or something had even stronger powers of patience than me, though in truth I doubted it.  I usually fish Silver Creek 90 or more days a season and I play high stakes No Limit Texas Hold’em poker most of the winter, both endeavors favor the patient soul and I do well at both of them.  

This afternoon I was sitting in a camp chair outside my trailer enjoying one of the few cool comfortable days of July, an unexpected pleasure and a relief from the confines of my air conditioned trailer, when a Great Blue Heron landed in the shallows of the creek and assumed a fishing position.  I didn’t move an inch for a half hour, nor did the Heron.   I admired the Heron’s stamina and ability more than mine because I was, after all, comfortably seated and he was standing up.  It only occurs to me now in retrospect than standing for a period of time might not be taxing for a Heron.  But, I’ve admired the ability to stand motionless for an extended period of time ever since I watched a squad of West Point cadets stand for what seemed to a 9 year old to be hours, in the sweltering heat, until one of them keeled over maybe 20 feet from me.  Just as my increasingly faltering memory made that connection, the Heron’s head darted down and snared a small Rainbow trout.  After gobbling the trout down, the Heron resumed his watch.

July 24TH Double R Fishing Report "Invasion of the Callibaetis!"

Thursday, July 24, 2014:

Invasion of the Callibaetis . . .

Okay, it is finally happening, at least to my observation.   The Callibaetis may fly . . . aka the Speckled Spinner . . . is finally becoming a significant insect on the Double R Ranch, both on The Pond and out on the field water.  There were scores of duns and spinners around my trailer last night and this morning.  It is no longer the case where one sees a few spent Callibaetis spinners floating by you early morning making you question whether the trout are really feeding on Tricos and small Baetis.  There are now Duns on the surface and in the air by mid-morning and the trout are taking them.  Sure, Tricos are still causing a riot on isolated sections of the field water and sometimes on The Pond, and the hatch of tiny (size 22-24) Blue Winged Olives are appearing on cool and overcast mornings.  But, the shrewd angler will be on the lookout for the relatively large (size 14-16) Callibaetis.  

If you run into significant Callibaetis activity, you will want to fish sparsely tied dun patterns.  I tend to favor my trusty Callibaetis Hatch Matcher because I feel that the forked tail and extended body are a “trigger” to the trout.  I also like the Callibaetis Thorax Dun, tied with an upright wing of brown Partridge and a long synthetic tail.  The Parachute Adams tied with just a sparse application of hackle is a consistent deceiver of trout.  And, you can’t go wrong with a gray or tan bodied Comparadun.  

Now is the time to ply the water with a nymph pattern, particularly if you see fish which are swirling subsurface rather than rising to insects on top of the water.  Traditional ties such as a Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear nymph take fish year in and year out.  I tend to favor a more flashy offering such as Mercer’s Poxyback Callibaetis nymph.  A slender abdomen is a desirable characteristic for a Callibaetis nymph.  The key on The Pond (or on a lake, for that matter) is to let the Callibaetis nymph sink and make 6 inch strips pulling the fly toward the surface, which imitates the behavior of the natural.  On the field water you will want to drift the nymph in front of working fish or a suspected fish lie, slowing the nymph down using a line mend if necessary.  

If the fish continue to rise when a gentle wind picks up, consider switching to a “cripple” pattern or a dun pattern one size larger.  Under these conditions you can get away with a larger tippet, which is better for the trout as we shift into August.  

Doug Andres 

Stream Keeper 

July 21ST Double R Fishing Report

Monday, July 21, 2014:

FISHING REPORT:

In a nut shell, when the early morning breeze tapered off this morning the overcast sky prompted some small Baetis and a smattering of Tricos to hatch and fish were intently working the buffet.  Hardly any Members were out on the field water or The Pond, where fish were rising, too.  In both locations, Callibaetis duns and spinners seemed to interest the trout as well.  Even the large Brown trout seem to be readily taking small sparsely tied imitations off the surface.  Anglers have been scoring well on beetles and ants; if you can’t seem to successfully match the hatch on a given morning or afternoon, throw out a small terrestrial as the fish are clearly looking up.  Tomorrow should be as cool as today’s weather so look for the three mayflies to continue to hatch in about equal numbers until the 90 plus degree heat resumes on Wednesday, when the Tricos and Callibaetis should take over. 

ON “OLD” FISHING BUDDIES AND OLD “FLAMES”:

This week four college fraternity brothers will be visiting me in Picabo.  Back in the proverbial Day, we were inseparable partners in crime, partying and the pursuit of the female gender.  It was, after all, The Post Sixties.  The Five Musketeers dispersed to Oregon, California, Colorado and South Carolina.  This reunion will be the first time the five of us have all been together in one location since we graduated in 1974 and, given that it took us 40 years to work out the logistics, it probably will not happen again.   None of my fraternity brothers fly fish so I will likely spend most of the three days giving futile instruction; I usually don’t drink while fishing, but I may need to make an exception.

Like just about every serious fly angler, I have a number of men and women with whom I’ve fished for years.  One good buddy and I have fished together at least one a season for over 25 years in Oregon and on Silver Creek each September.  Another showed up yesterday (on his way to The Big Hole and the Missouri, bearing a case of his “Stream Keeper’s Reserve” Pinot Noir made from grapes he grows in the Willamette Valley.  Another buddy and I have fished together since I introduced him to The Deschutes on the one year anniversary of his remission from Lymphoma.  Then there is a woman friend who has been fly fishing Yellowstone National Park streams since the mid-70s, and whom I have turned into an expert soft hackle angler.   Of course, I fish with local anglers and those friends who make an annual pilgrimage to the hallowed waters of Silver Creek.  

A friend recently asked me what I would prefer, three days with an old fishing buddy or 72 hours with an Old Flame.  You would assume that an increasingly heavy set, graying one legged man now in his early sixties would jump at the chance to “reunite” with a love from his now distant youth, wouldn’t you?  Well, not exactly, as the passage of years has made me less tolerant and attentive to the vagaries of the female gender, and I am increasingly more difficult to tolerate than one can imagine.  The pleasures of the flesh may no longer be a panacea for seemingly irreconcilable differences in philosophy or each other’s outlook on Life.  One’s priorities change as the decades pass.  For more detail read (or re-read) Russell Chatham’s wonderful short story, “The Great Duck Misunderstanding” found in his Dark Waters collection.      

With long term fishing buddies, one is not reliving or grasping at past relationship high points.  You are back out on the water, sometimes new and sometimes familiar, both of you attempting to solve the Riddle of the Day.  Necessarily, there is something serious and engaging to talk about around the evening camp fire, over fine spirits and paced by a good cigar.  This debate does not inadvertently rub salt into old wounds which one would think should have healed by now.  The bond between you remains fresh and new; it is not being relived.

Doug Andres

Stream Keeper   

July 19TH Double R Fishing Report

Saturday, July 19, 2014:

FISHING REPORT 

Saturday morning fishing conditions were rather comfortable as the air temperature was a wee bit cooler than just about every day during the past fortnight and the early morning breeze tapered off quickly so that the hatches came off in reliable fashion.  

While the Trico hatch in the field water was rather sparse, Members reported encountering a hatch of really tiny Baetis, perhaps a size 24.  The problem was being able to see your imitation in the blazing sun and I received a report of fish just “nosing” or otherwise refusing size 20 BWO Hatch Matcher.  My suggestion is to tie on a small (size 22 or 24) parachute pattern or other fly with a high profile (from the angler’s view point!) and cast to fish directly downstream of your position so that you avoid the nasty glare.  Then the Callibaetis made an appearance, both spinners and duns in size 16, but the fish only keyed on the Callibaetis in isolated locations. If you are lucky enough to find yourself in The Red Zone, try a sparsely tied fly such as a Callibaetis Thorax Dun, a Callibaetis Hatch Matcher, a Parachute Adams or something similar in size 16.  If all else fails, you might want to try a beetle or an ant pattern as the trout are used to seeing them by now.  

What can I say about The Pond, other than that we should re-name it “Old Reliable” because it is full of rising fish unless the wind comes up and destroys the hatch.  The more observant angler seems to catch the most fish; the Hatch of the Day could be Trico, Callibaetis or Midges.  If you can’t determine the identity of The Culprit causing trout to rise, get ahold of some gray or tan bodied “Sparkle Dun” dry flies in sizes 16 to 20 which should cover the spectrum.  Keep an eye open for fish taking grasshoppers in the wind as I have seen natural hoppers an inch and a half long in the established grass on the south side of The Pond; soon grasshoppers will become an important factor on The Pond.  

Doug Andres

Stream Keeper   

July 18TH Double R Fishing Report

Friday, July 18, 2014:

SIZE MATTERS:

Having fished Silver Creek for over 23 years I feel that as a general rule one’ ability to make a crafty presentation is much more important than fly pattern or the size of your offering, within limits.  What I mean by “within limits” is primarily that one needs to fish sparsely dressed flies and that getting within a couple of sizes of the natural insect on the water is close enough for government work.  When I see a trout “nose” my fly offering or otherwise get a “refusal” I quite frequently tie on a fly one size larger whereas “The Book” says to go down a size.  At the bench I have become less focused on tying a realistic imitation, these days I have become obsessed with incorporating “triggering” characteristics into new fly designs.  While I generally avoid casting other than in a downstream direction, as the years pass I am more prone to varying the presentation, such as by giving dry flies a twitch as it comes into the trout’s viewfinder, by applying a six inch “tug” to the soft hackled fly as it approaches the site of a subsurface swirl, etc.  Fundamentally, I am loath to change patterns or fly sizes which led to success the day before even if they spark no reaction today.  For me, it is akin to surrendering at The Alamo.

But, Thursday I felt a chink in the armor.  Thursday was a bit cooler than earlier in the week and there was significant cloud cover.  As I took this all in I was thinking Baetis.  There weren’t that many Trico or White Miller Caddis early morning and it took a rather long time for the trout to rise in force.  When the trout riot began in earnest it didn’t seem like the culprits were Tricos.  I don’t carry a seining net with me anymore; I had to start drawing the line somewhere.  But, it was pretty hard to not see the tiny bugs causing civil unrest as there were so many of them.  Yes, it was obviously a Blue Winged Olive hatch but the size of that mayfly was rather unusual this early in the trout season . . . . a bona fide size 24 and perhaps a size smaller.  Yet, I was stubborn and would not retire my green bodied size 20 Rene Harrop Trico No Hackle which had worked so well over the prior three days.  Hell, due to the tall white wing I could see the damn No Hackle when fishing a long line and the abdomen was green.  One would think it was close enough.  But, it wasn’t.  Admittedly I did land 3 fish.  But the No Hackle drifted over about a hundred other trout without being taken and I experienced a couple dozen refusals and three instances where the fly was “nosed.”  It was one of those days where prudence dictated that I “man up” and try a different fly pattern or size.  However, the Presentation Ego got involved and that’s all she wrote.  I promised myself that next time I will change flies, but I know that when push comes to shove I probably won’t make the adjustment.

Doug Andres

Stream Keeper

July 14TH Double R Fishing Report

Monday, July 14, 2014:

“Here today, gone tomorrow” was the story line Sunday morning.  Saturday’s strong Baetis hatch did not show up Sunday morning.  But, the Tricos were out in force making for some exceptional dry fly fishing most of the morning and the trout “podded up” in some stretches of the lower field water.  Your Stream Keeper once again caught all of his 8 fish on Rene Harrop’s olive bodied Trico No Hackle, in size 22.  Later I tried my usually trusty olive bodied Trico Hatch Matcher but only experienced refusals.  I came upon two “pigs” feeding consistently in a foot of water but could not hook them on the Hatch Matcher.  I noticed that the two Brutes were swirling subsurface rather than sipping duns or spinners on top so I switched to a #20 Harrop Trico Nymph but could not buy a fish.  My largest fish of the morning was a 17 inch bank sipping Brown trout.  I was off my game and “missed” too many fish today.  There were quite a few Callibaetis spinners and I probably should have cut the leader back and fished a Hen Winged Spinner or a Callibaetis Hatch Matcher.  Bottom line is that despite the absence of a Baetis it was the most exciting morning for me this season.  My Guest landed over 20 fish.  The Pond continues to fish well pretty much all day unless the wind blows.  On both The Pond and the field water we should soon be seeing a Damselfly hatch.  The early morning flights of White Miller Caddis have begun to wane.  

EFFECTS OF THE NEW DAM        

While admittedly your Stream Keeper is no fisheries biologist, I have to say that I attribute the consistently good fishing in the “field” section of the Double R Ranch to the fact that we have lowered the water temperature as much as 4 degrees by using 80 to 85percentof the bottom release capacity of the new Dam.  The winter’s Pond Project is working as designed, apparently worth the $500,000 cost, and may well turn out to be the savior of our trout during this low water year.  The other evening Nick Purdy took a swim in The Pond, armed with a thermometer.  The surface temperature in The Pond registered 69 degrees, but when Nick took a reading immediately below the new bottom release dam the reading was 59 degrees!   Quite a difference from the pre-project era where The Pond warmed the water at a rate of 22 degrees per mile!  I suspect that The Pond and the colder water below the new Dam (perhaps all the way down to Hwy 20) will become a refuge as we progress into August and the water on the Preserve and below Highway 20 increasingly heats up. 

Meanwhile, due to increasingly higher water temperatures on the Preserve, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) management and its biologists are currently discussing what form of temporary closure is necessary and appropriate.  One proposal is to prohibit fishing before 10:00 a.m.  We all are probably aware that Montana Fish & Game has traditionally taken the approach of allowing morning fishing and closing rivers after 2:00 p.m. during drought years.  I have heard that TNC’s rational for potentially prohibiting early morning fishing is that the culprit in fish kills and stressing is a dangerously low level of dissolved oxygen (cause by heat) rather than the warm temperatures themselves.  So, recognizing that dissolved oxygen is at its lowest level at 6:00 a.m. and that it takes several hours of morning sun for photosynthesis to replenish dissolved oxygen, an opening time of 10:00 a.m. is being considered.  Keep in mind that Silver Creek lacks the riffle water of your typical freestone river which aids in oxygenating the water; that might be one of the reasons why TNC is not just adopting MFG strategy wholesale.  If anyone has more information about this difference in opinion, please flag your Stream Keeper down, stop by my trailer, call me at 503.939.7657 or email me at dougandres.whenpigflies@gmail.com.

Doug Andres 

Stream Keeper