Across the river a trout is happily filling his belly with bugs.
I knew in the time I walked the ten feet from my dorm room stairwell in Sijan Hall to his blue Land Rover that my day on the river would be cold.
I am constantly surprised by the river.
Tying your own flies is a huge leap in the pursuit of becoming a great fly fisher. If you are just starting out, congratulations. Now that you have decided to start tying flies, you may be asking, “what fly should I learn to tie first?” The Zebra Midge is an outstanding answer for many reasons.
If I get out of the drift boat, you may not see me again until the evening hatch. Yeah --- it’s a problem.
It was in sunny Las Vegas Nevada, that I remember telling my wife, “I’d really like to get into tying my own flies.” My wife, whose memory can be either a steel trap or --- let’s just say the opposite of a steel trap --- decided to use her powers for good and several months later at Christmas I had a fly tying kit. Hooray! Hugs and smooches exchanged, I sat down to tie my first fly on Christmas morning, 2013. And while I tied a few flies between then and now, I can say that the fly tying kit may have “started” me into tying my own flies, but it was a weak and pathetic start. A long road filled with terrible flies, that rarely were used, let alone caught fish. I’ll tell you why.
It is one thing to not catch fish while nymphing. It is another to be hooking up all day and then come up short on a great spot.
Fishing was slow, but I was optimistic. The East Fork of the Sevier River is more of a small stream than a river. The water rarely widens more than a dirt road, but it is enough. High desert grasses and steep hills make for beautiful scenery and there is easy access along the highway. I had never been skunked in that section and it was rare to see other fishermen in the canyon. So far, I was alone. It was blue skies and when the wind stopped, the sun warmed me. A smile on my face. Why not be optimistic?