Game On (again)

I feel this way two times per season. April and September. Like our good friend Mike Decoteau said last week- "Early September is like early April- every instinct I have is telling me 'it's time'... but it's really still a little to soon."  Well, we are darn near the middle of September and time is a slippin'. The good news- it is time. (Mike by the way is a steelhead/trout junkie who ties some really mean feather wing streamer in the classic fashion. He is truly a jungle cock nerd.  He also tied professionally for SS Flies- contact us and we will put you in touch with him for some really, really nice custom tied feather wing streamers. Mike actually inspired me to tie on a feather wing today while guiding a bass trip- I think that says it all).

Water temps in the Upper Kennebec have dropped from 75 degrees last week to 68 currently. Blue Wings and Isonychias have started and the fish are looking up. Remember, and Isonychia is a swimmer- one of the fastest of all aquatic insects- so it pays to strip a Zug Bug or other pattern that mimics the nymph at the end of a dead drift. Sometimes drag can be your best friend. An Adams in a 12 makes a good match for the adult. Blue wing are, well blue wings- micro. Carry some patterns down to a 24. I'm not convinced that we aren't seeing some tricos as well. But when they are that small, who really cares. Streamers have been producing fish also and we have been finding a few browns laid up real tight on the bank- like within a foot. Remember that the next time you wade into a river. It is only going to pick up from here, and now is a great time to float the Kennebec.

Tyler