I thought it was time for another Odds and Ends post. It feels good to be out on the river again. Yes, the Metolius has been somewhat fickle, some insects and a few fish rising to them. But no two days are the same, and the next day will find us sitting and watching the river, waiting for something to happen. It allows us to spend more time looking for insects and I’ll share some of those images today. I’ll begin the one below…we saw this large Mayfly floating downriver on Monday, thinking it may be our first Green Drake. Actually, I think it’s a Flav, but close enough.
The Little Olive Stones are prolific and my Improved F Fly imitation has brought several Rainbow to our nets.
On a different day, we pulled out the paint strainer to collect insects floating on the water. This is one of the Caddis we found.
How about a Green Drake nymph? The image below is the underside…
…and a top view.
I’m the first to admit I am not an expert entomologist, but this Drunella grandis (I’m guessing) is too small to hatch within the next few weeks. Maybe I’m wrong, but I would hold out for next June.
The river is so low and we marvel at the water level when crossing the bridge to Wizard Falls Hatchery.
I walked out to capture a few pictures and video of the rapids above the Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery bridge. It was taken when the river was running 1210 cfs at the Grandview gauge.
Here is a short video from my RiverKeeper Flies YouTube channel.
Lastly, I will be a demonstration fly tier at the FFI FlyFest in Redding, CA September 24 – 26. I’m scheduled to tie on Friday (9/25) from 1pm to 5pm and Saturday (9/26) from 9am to 1 pm. For my friends in California, I hope you are able to attend.
“FlyFest brings anglers of all ages and skill levels together under one roof for a weekend built around learning, sharing, and celebrating fly fishing. From hands-on instruction to meaningful conversations, everything is designed to meet you where you are.”
Enjoy…go fish!
Ah shoot! I won’t be about to Redding till the second week of October when I’m fishing for a week out of The Fly Shop there. Sorry I’m gonna miss you. I really would’ve enjoyed meeting you.
You and Nick Williams (The Curious Angler) are my 2 favorite blogs. Also, you told me about the book by Ed Engler. I found it, but it was 2 books in one how to tie/how to fish tiny flies. Thank you! Also, one day while fishing a local stream here in the Rockies, I bumped into Ed and he had an older gentleman with him. Well, at a book signing at the local flyshop, they were both there. John Gierach.
So cool!!
An interesting conversation would be – whether the Metolius has the most diverse assemblage of invertebrates in Oregon, or maybe even the Northwest?