Trifecta Plus One....

Although it's not a rare occurance, pulling off a trifecta on my local river doesn't happen too often.  It is predominantly a brown trout fishery with a healthy number of rainbows sprinkled in for good measure.  Brook trout are not as common and what is even less common, at least in the area of river I fish, are smallmouth bass.  Over the weekend I pulled off the quadfecta...brown trout, rainbow trout, brook trout and the elusive smallmmouth bass.

First at the gate was this fellow.  As I said previously we don't see many catchable size smallies on this section of stream.

The Elusive Smallmouth Bass

Second up is the rainbow trout, fairly common in faster sections of the stream and they do quite well in this river.

Next up is my favorite, the brown trout.  My best fish from this stream was a brown that stretched the tape past the 28" mark.  In the early season, once the chill comes off the day the browns start to feed pretty regularly but they definately show a preference for overcast days.

Some big...

Some not so big...

Finally the brook trout...most of what you catch will look like this.

Typical brook trout

But once in a blue moon you'll be lucky enough to find one that looks like this...

Not so typical brook trout

I don't know where this fella came from but he was in prime shape.  Perfect fins and a lean muscular body that has spent a season or two in the river.  My personal best for this stream.  All and all it was a great season opener!

One final note...
As I was gearing up for the day someone made the comment that I would not be sneaking up on any fish that day wearing my new yellow Fiberglass Manifesto t-shirt.  I guess the fish were color blind that day or they loved the new design!  Thanks Cameron!

Getting Down Deep - The Cased Caddis Anchor

Cased Caddis Anchor

Faced with the prospect of high water flows on the season opener this weekend, I spent a few hours working on a few anchor fly patterns.  I was inspired to tie this particular pattern by my three year old son.  He was walking around the house with a piece of chartruese colored nylon twine around his neck.  Not wanting him to string himself up I took it away from him.  As I was getting ready to throw it away, I realized it would make a perfect larva head for a peeking caddis pattern.  A jig hook, large facetted/slotted tungsten bead, a lead underbody, grouse hackle for legs and a spiky hares ear body complete the package.  A basic peeking caddis pattern but this one has some serious weight behind it!

This is Fly Magazine

The April/May edition is out!

Simms G4 Pro Waders

Last week my trusty old Simms G3 waders finally gave up the ghost.  I have gotten more use out of these waders than any other pair I've owned, so I was sad to see them go.  They are going back to Simms to see if there is any chance of resuscitation, but I am not hopeful.  Not wanting to fish the season opener swimming in a leaky pair of waders, I took the plunge and ordered a new pair of Simms  G4 Pro Waders.  A few months back I was fortunate to win one of Feathercraft's monthly giveaways and walked away with a $100.00 gift certificate.  That took the sting out of upgrading to the G4's.  Though to be honest it still hurt a bit!  The good folks at Feathercraft had my size in stock and I had the new waders in my hands in a matter of days.

Simms products are pricey but they seem to last the longest for me so in the end I guess it works out the same as buying several cheaper pairs of waders over the same time period.  I'm  pretty rough on waders,  so I'm very intrested to see how well these G4's hold up.  I have seen them reviewed on several sites as "bombproof"...we'll see.

My initial impressions are good so far.  They definately feel a lot heavier as there is more square inches of the wader covered in the 5 layer gortex.  My main reason for upgrading is extra protection in certain areas.  Many of the leaks that developed on my old G3's were in the 3 layer areas that are now covered by 5 layers of material in the G4's.  I think I have to give the nod to my trusty G3's in regards to comfort, but I'm sure that's due to more surface area of 5 layer gortex.  That being said, I would not say the G4's are uncomfortable, they just feel like waders, instead of a pair of well worn pants.  One change I do like is the moving of the seams away from the inside of the pant legs to the tops.  This should eliminate wear problems on the seams caused by walking.

While they may be heavier and not as comfortable as the G3's they should hold up a lot better busting through brush, kneeling, sitting etc.  One thing I do love about the waders is the pocket set up.  The waterproof zippered handwarmer pockets will come in handy for early and late season fishing. There is enough storage on board to eliminate a vest completely on those short trips to local waters.  In addition, the handy flip out tippet pocket I had on my G3's is still there.  On top of that there is a docking station for an additional zinger, a fly patch and a tab to hold a pair of forceps,  features that will certainly be useful.  Finally, the wader has belt loops and comes with a wading belt to round out the package.

The real test will begin next weekened and hopefully continue for a few seasons!  I'll give a full report once they get a little stream time under their belt.