Homewater Rainbows and Browns

So yesterday was a little weird. I would have written and posted this last night but I was doing awesome things, more on the later. But late morning early afternoon I fished my home river, which was in great shape with the rain but still higher than is good for a mayfly hatch. I had to nymph again. First fish was a very colorful salmon parr. Soon to smoltify, I'd say.

Not a five minutes later I hooked a sizable fish on the downstream drift. I was totally expecting a big brown given the spirited fight I got from this fish. Nope. It turned out to be a rainbow. This is pretty early in the year to be catching stocked rainbows here, but this wouldn't be the only one I'd catch this day. 

A few casts later I caught the fish I was here looking for, a gorgeous wild brown of good proportions. Instantly I was feeling better about the day. 

As I worked my way upstream I picked up a salmon parr here or a brown there, nothing serious. I did break off a 12 inch brown in one pocket. What a bummer that was. When I finally did hook a really good fish it was another surprise rainbow that took me on a 30yd run down the rapids. That one I thought was going to be a 18 inch wild brown... kind of a disappointment but whatever. 

I continued to catch small wild browns, a great sign that this stream will be healthy if the water level remains good through this summer and fall, but didn't get anything substantial until I got to where I caught the 11 inch wild brown last time. There I caught two fish, one smaller light colored one and the first a bigger extremely dark fish. What cool color variation! 

Dark brownie

Light brownie

Not far upstream is a huge boulder that I always make a drift next to but never ever catch a fish. Not a single one in 6 years. Yet today there was a trout there and I hooked it. It was a very nice brown, over 10 inches, and it ran downstream with me following closely behind. 

One more spirited healthy wild brown trout and I called it a day. See you again soon, favorite river. Hopefully the fish will be rising.