An Evening on the Clinch

I made it out to the Clinch yesterday evening with a fishing buddy and co-worker. We were the only ones on the water, and were greeted with a nice little sulfur hatch. I guess the forecast kept some people away. The fish were rising and I picked up right were I left off on Friday. They were once again eager to take the flashback pheasant tail. My best fish of the day was a hard fighting bow that measured on the water at 16" using my "MeasureNet". However, once I got home I checked the markings on the net and found that they were 1" short, so it was actually a 17" fish (shown pictured at right). Managed to bring a dozen to hand in the first two hours. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing such a loop in my line during my drift that I was having some difficulty with my hookup consistency. I probably missed as many as I landed if not more.



At approximately 7:00 the hatch ended, but the spinner fall started. I had no answer to this. It was the first true spinner fall I have ever fished and I was completely unprepared. So, I need to develop spinner pattern to match. As seen in the picture at right, the sulfurs change colors during the fall from the traditional sulfur color to this reddish-orange tint. I could look down around me and be surrounded by spinners, so the fish had endless options for which fly to take, and mine wasn't one of them. Oh well, it is just something else I need to work on to develop my fly fishing resume along with dry midge fishing.


I will continue to have a steady diet of the Clinch until my son is born. It has been a great early fishing season already. God has really blessed me with a wife that enjoys going along with me to the river, so my opportunities are probably greater than they would be otherwise. I have also started enjoying the moment more so than before. I used to approach the water with pre-determined limit in mind that I needed to catch for it to be a successful trip. I no longer do that, and my fishing success has greatly increased.


God Bless and tight lines.