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Drunella Grandis

OK, don't get too excited.  These green drake nymphs (drunella grandis) are not emerging yet, but they are all over the shallow slowish water very close to the banks.  I took a walk over to the Big Wood in Hailey this afternoon and discovered the green drake nymphs while looking for the perfect skipping rock.  There really were  a lot of bugs!  These green drake nymphs are clingers which means they are great at attaching themselves to something underwater, usually a rock or submerged branch, but when they become dislodged they are carried by the current and stay suspended for sometime before re-attaching themselves to another hold.  What this means is they are very easy targets for trout once they become dislodged.

 

On another note, the Big Wood is very low and very clear for this time of year.  As of this afternoon the river was flowing at approx. 380 cfs and the median for this time of year is over 1,000 cfs.  Our low elevation snow has already melted and it has been cooler than average.  We will still see a substantial bump in the river once it FINALLY gets warm.  Openning day fishing on the Big Wood this year is a real possibility.