October Caddis

Well, I have spent the last 3 days on Silver creek and other than seeing baetis every day, each of the last three days has been completely different.  Three days ago I saw MANY mahogany duns and the last two days I only saw a handful.  The fish still recognize them but not all of the risers are willing to eat them.  Today, as it was windy early, hoppers worked quite well and the two prior days they didn't seem to garner much attention.  Tomorrow the wind is supposed to BLOW.  Gusts to 28 mph.  We'll see...

Here are two October Caddis images from yesterday on Silver Creek:

 

 

 

October Trico

Here's an image of a female trico taken on Silver Creek two days ago.  While there are not many tricos left, there are certainly a few lingering.  I took the shot below not long after the trico emerged.  Silver Creek is a pretty cool place to be right now as Sandhill Cranes are there in abundance and sounding out their prehistoric garble.  A heard of elk is on the upper end of the preserve and some of the bulls can be heard bugling...  Moose, too, have been wandering around the preserve, albeit quietly.  Raptors in abundance--from bald eagles to the smallish and erratic flying harriers-- are seeking out their prey including overly abundant voles. 

 

Silver Creek Fall Baetis

Here's an image I took today on Silver Creek of a baetis.  This baetis was/is tiny!  A #22 or #24.  Mahogany duns are also getting smaller, already.  The mahoganies I saw today were around a #18.  There were tons of baetis mid-day and the fish were on them.  Hoppers are still around and are still working.

 

I used spot metering and metered the baetis and dialed down the exposure compensation 1 stop.  Shot taken with the Nikon 105  2.8 lens.

Silver Creek Dragon Fly

Here are a couple images of a dragon fly at Silver Creek.  I fished the Lost today and had a north wind until around 2 and then it became calm with a broken sky.  A few tricos are still lingering in the late AM and usually a strong baetis in the afternoon, but not today, or at least not where I was.  Still decent fishing if you are willing to nymph... 

 

 

Fly Fishing Photography...

Sometimes the tiny details are spectacular.  A small mahogany dun casting a perfect reflection on glassy water.  The electric blue of an adult damsel fly.  The sky on a particularly brooding day.  Here's an image taken of an unusually vibrant gill plate on a rainbow trout.  Photo taken on Silver Creek using a Nikon macro 105  2.8.

 

Adipose Fin...

Here are a few more fin shots.  Both are from yesterday on the Lost.  I have been carrying a Nikon macro 105 2.8 with me on the river in lieu of something wider.  It was a rare day for me as I fished the Wood.  We had cool grey skies and zero wind.  The bugs (baetis) really didn't start where I was until after 2.  Hopefully the Fall baetis gig gets ratcheted up.  We'll see.

 

Adipose fin from a rainbow.  I get the black background from dialing down the exposure and backlighting the subject.

 

Brook trout from the Lost River.  This male Brookie was no larger than 10 inches and was in full spawning color and had a very prominent jaw realtive to its overall size.

 

Wet & Cool Real Fall Weather On Silver Cr.

So the weather has finally changed.  It is cool and wet and rained for the first time here in about a month.  I fished Silver Cr. today in mixed rain with baetis and mahogany duns starting around 10:15.  This weather should get our Fall fishing going and the cool weather is slated to continue for at least the next 4 days.  Think baetis...

 

Here are more close-ups of rainbow fins:

 

 

 

 

Tricos

Fall tricos?  Yep, that's right.  Tricos are still happening on the Lower Lost due in part I am sure to the warm weather we are having.  High today in Mackay was about 80.  The warm weather is slowing down the mid-day baetis however.  That should all change on Monday when cooler and potentially wet weather is supposed to arrive.

 

 

 

Rainbow Fins

Here are a few macro images from two different rainbows caught today on the Lost.  The unseasonably warm weather has slowed the fall baetis down a little but the Lost is still fishing well.  Depending on where you are, tricos have been starting around 10:15 or so and going to about noon.  Photos taken with the nikon macro 105  2.8 lens with exposure compensation dialed down 1 stop.

Backlit anal fin from a 15" rainbow

 

Backlit tail from a 9" rainbow

More Of Silver Creek

Here's another image from Silver Creek today.  The baetis have been very strong starting around 10:45 AM or so but it is the most challenging fishing of the day by far.  The fish are selective and eating SMALL baetis and they want the fly to look like the real deal which is far from easy to see...  So, the hopper fishing by noon and especially if the wind picks up has been great.  The hopper does not need to be right on the bank either.  The callibaetis afternoon thing is starting to wane.  I saw a few today but the fish never really got on them where I was...

 

The rising fish ended up missing the baetis in the picture below and the baetis drifted on a few more feet and then flew away.

 

Fall on Silver Creek

Here are a few images from today on Silver Creek.  Low 80's and just about zero breeze.  Baetis early and then hopper action.  Callibaetis did not happen where I was...  Some mahogany duns are showing up too.  More of the same weather forecast for the next 4 to 5 days.

 

 

 

Silver Creek

I was on Silver Creek again today and had a fantastic day.  Virtually no wind and low seventies.  Not many people around and Fall fishing at its best!  Baetis followed by callibaetis around 12:45 and hopppertunity picked up as the day went on.  I saw over a dozen October caddis as well.

 

 

Silver Creek Brown

Here are two images of a brown caught today on Silver Creek.  I converted one to black and white.  WIND and cooler.  Hopper weather.  Water temps are and have been cool.  I took two readings, one at 9 AM and the other around 12:30, and both read just under 51 degrees.

 

 

Fly Fishing Photography

Here are a few images I took of tricos today on the Big Lost.  Tricos on the Lost are quite a bit smaller than their relatives on Silver Creek.  They are thinner and two hook sizes smaller.  Around a true #24.  The good news is that size does not matter as much.  With that said, a tiny trico spinner behind an easier to see dun can make quite a bit of difference.  I have been fascinated with trying to capture bugs in the air.  I have a long ways to go and much to experiment with...

 

I thought the blue sky took too much away from these airborn tricos so I converted these two images to black and white.

 

 

Echinacea And Hollyhock

Here are a few images from my garden.  While Fall is certainly in the air and in the higher elevation color, the weather is spectacular with highs in the 70's.  The fishing too is very good at the moment!  Post Labor Day crowds (or lack thereof) and terrific through the middle of the day fishing.

 

Echinacea

 

Hollyhock

Being On The River

A few days ago I had the great pleasure of fishing with someone who, a year and a half or so ago, was only given a few months to live due to colon and liver cancer.  He is cancer free at the moment and I really could not have been with someone who was more excited--in an understated way--to be on the river.  I was really given a gift by virtue of having had the opportunity to fish with him and gain a very fresh and grateful perspective on life.  Here's a shot of his hands and the fish he has on in the background.  Present tense all the way...

 

 

Here's a link to a short video called, "Dark side Of The Lens."  It's worth checking out and the photographer is incredibly talented.  Here it is:  http://vimeo.com/14074949