NOTHING TO DO WITH AGE
"A Killing Fly"
we just forgot
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.. Yesterday we made a brief visit to the Madison River in Yellowstone National Park... We had planned to spend
the whole day seeing just where fish could be caught in the current high water conditions... The stalwart group that did it Saturday on the Firehole River, (see post below,) were doing it again yesterday. We thought that we could make it.
.. Got an urgent request from a neighbor, however, and had to return, through the light drizzle, to town for some chores and other 'business.'
.. The day was mostly gray & damp, but there were periods when holes in the clouds made for postcard images - if you're skilled enough to capture them... The Madison River is in the throes of dischargeitis. The appearance is that of a thick broth. The color is a cross between burnt sienna and burnt umber: can't imagine drinking tea of that color.
.. The water has piled up at 7-mile bridge and flooded the meadows. The lake is growing as we post this.
.. Those neighborhood hearties made it through the day, (clear to dark,) and reported that fish can be caught... The standout fly was an old English staple, re-invented in America in the 1930's.
.. It is very similar to a fly we use. We are, sadly, astonished that we had not dragged it out of the dusty box it resides in. Forgetting about it has nothing to do with age - we're sure!
.. Four years ago, at about this season, we sang the praises of the fly that we know as the "HELLIFIKNOW."
.. The fly used by the neighbors yesterday is called "Rogan's Silver Minnow." It was known as an especially 'killing fly' in the waters of New York and Pennsylvania during the 40's and to the 60's.
.. The similarity of the two flies is not to be dismissed since the local version was supposedly brought to the area by a famous easterner who took up residence and called this place home.
.. Anyway, yesterday, the original version was the 'go-to' fly and brought several fish to net... Reports of continuous strikes in muddy soup are hard to believe at times. We believe it because the mission of the neighbors was to discover just how to fish the gloom of our west side rivers during peak runoff periods. Now we know - for this time, at least.
.. It was fished solo and drifted under the banks then quickly stripped back parallel to the shoreline. Occasionally it was taken at the end of the drift. Usually the take was after two or three short strips with a pause.
.. Well, the false dawn is here: breakfast beckons. A second pot of coffee, huevos rancheros, over easy, with frijolitos, arroz y aguacate, served with tortilla, limon y salsa ranchero, a small orden de fruta, washed down with an agua fresca de piña con sandia.
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