Is Spring around the corner?

It appears we will have some decent weather for a few days. Has winter loosed its strangle hold on us finally? Winter is my least favorite season, and this past has been the longest, coldest, and wettest I can remember. Bring on the spring weather, flowers, birds, and good fishing.

Speaking of fishing, I made it out to the Clinch today for a few hours. I expected to see all the parking lots full, but was surprised that it wasn't all that bad. The generation schedule kept me off the lease, so I was limited to fishing near the dam. I have an area below the weir dam that I fish when I am forced to stay in that area, however it requires quite a long walk. I have never seen anybody in this area, so you can imagine my surprise when I showed up there today and found three other people fishing. So, I forced myself to get in amongst everybody below the weir dam. I tied on my clinch river typical tandem with a #18 midge pupae and a #20 midge larva point fly. I quickly picked up two fish, and then the wind started blowing. The waves created by the wind were so large that they easily overtook my little poly yarn indicator. Add to the fact that it was very chilly, and I chose to try my luck in another area I am familiar with.




I got out of the river and hoofed it way above the weir dam and got into a section of river that was deserted. I then strung up my sinking tip line and an olive streamer. Not long afterward I was into some more fish. I fished the streamer for about another 45 minutes before calling it quits for the day. My final tally for the day was six. Four bows and two browns, however none of them were of any significant size. The largest bow was about 12", but I did see some larger fish working the weir pool. Also, there was not much surface activity today, and I was a little surprised by that as well since I expected the sunshine to spark lots of midge activity.

I met six fishermen walking out today that all had limits of trout with them, and most of the fish were in the 12 to 13" range. This along with the number of fisherman just reminded me today why I prefer to fish down at the lease. The peace and quiet along with the quality of fish is just so much better. I am anxious to get reacquainted for the first time since probably August.

Until next time,
Tight Lines and God Bless