NYMPHS FOR FISH
Just A Short Drive
many fish - easy pickin's
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.. The recent salubrious weather conditions have provided just the excuse for a pleasant ride in the
country... Temperatures above zero are a constant reminder that there are some things that an El Niño winter is good for.
.. There should be a bit of snow this weekend but even if the wind picks up the temperatures will still be too warm for late January.
.. The snow-pack is down, the moisture content is down, the temperatures are up. The Spring and
Summer fishing may be impacted, - BUT - right now the fishing is great!.. Just over the hill is the lowland Madison River. The parking lot at Slide Inn, the Highway 287 bridge, and the $3 Dollar Bridge Access are full of cars from the neighborhood.
.. The snow is not deep. The walk is gentle. The fish are eager. The weather is grand... Little white flakes punctuate the days, and the wind, (surprisingly,) has been soft and refreshing.
.. Dance partners of the finny kind are easy to find and some are both large and exuberant. Most are easily enticed with a generalized nymph.
.. The neighbors are using Feather Dusters, Gold Ribbed Hare's Ears,
and Prince nymphs to good advantage. The fish seem to be ignoring the prolific mid-day midge hatches... The last few days the area below the 287 bridge has been the most productive. Last week the braided channels above the bridge seemed to provide better catching - go figure.
.. Some of the neighbors have taken to fishing "olyde-timey" wet flies. Names such as Cow Dung
and Scarlet Ibis roll off the tongue pretty easily after a brew or two. Both traditional patterns and the flies from the "reject jar" are working... Several of the fishers have been scoring well with Jacklin's Rock Worm. This deceptively simple little nymph is like candy to the trout right now.
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