duaneredford.com   "Fear No Water"

Hidy Ho Good Neighbors,

Angry August…..That’s fly fishing guide code for “I have to really earn my money for about three weeks”.  Water flows are coming down as the air and water temperatures go up, you have a high sky, little shade and the bugs are getting smaller. It’s not terrible, but the river is a bit angry after a summer of countless boots, bugs and boats.

So, it’s a good idea to pull the staff together for some beers and brats and to recharge the staff morale a bit and go over a few late season housekeeping items.  Out behind the shop, sitting on trucks and ice coolers, we assembled to go over a few tidbits and blow off a little steam that angry august can conceive.

After we went over a few items like “make sure you clean the waders”, to “if you’re gonna park here, move all the way up” to “is that my beer or yours?”, I decided to ask the guides to shout out their best current bugs. Their “crushing it” bugs like the flat-brimmers say.

T- with a fine trout that ate a brown size 18 bug….

As I sit there, my head snaps side to side as many guides bark out their current besties, and I am amazed.  I hear, “size 24 thattabug” and  ”size 22 everfly” ,followed by, “ a size 26 thisabug”.  “What size tippet ya’ll throwin’?”, I humbly ask.  “Mostly 6x flouro, nothing bigger than 5x”, many concur.  Once again, I am the odd man out unless some of the other guides were feeling like me and just haven’t written it down for all to read.

I’m glad one of the crew didn’t ask me what my besties are and what size tippet I’m throwing, I would have been forced to say, “Inch a half Tan San Juan, a size 16 Partridge and Orange soft hackle, followed by size 18 Chocolate Thunder or Butt Crack”. “Uh, all on 4x,” as my voice would trail off.

I like big bugs, always have, always will, and I think if you fish them right you can maybe not hook as many fish as the small fly guys, but the ones you hook tend to stay hooked.  And with bigger tippet, I don’t experience many snap-offs no matter how hard folks pinch cork. I still think the most important part of the drift isn’t always about the flies, it’s still about the drift and putting the right bugs, in the right slot, to the right fish in a stealthy manner.  Are the right bugs always smaller? I don’t think so, but I must confess when the going gets tough I drop a size down to 20.

What about color?  This time of year, for me, it’s about orange and brown.  The fish are already looking for the big orange bodied Autumn Sedge like I am, and they have been “crushing” that size 16 softie.  Brown is just a great color (purple is next) for my tricos, blue quills, pseudo baetis, and PMD emergers that are zipping around.  Certainly could use other colors, but those work just fine.

Janet with a nice specimen that ate an 18 Butt Crack

I love angry August, I’ve the best job on the planet, meeting and guiding amazing people, and every now and again, I get to have a free beer and brat behind the fly shop, and that was my beer he drank out of…….

Fear No Water

Book update:  Into angry August on the book too.  Heavy editing begins soon, just finished illustration and photo placement.  Looking forward to moving it along!

Thanks to all that voted for a cover with the link I provided last post.  Hidden In Plain View reporting for duty!  Soon…..

It’s Hidden In Plain View…..