Down Goes December

December is the first of the 4 tougher months in my never ending quest to catch at least one salmonid on a dry fly each month. It isn't the worst, there can be some quite excellent midge hatches in December. January might be the worst. Each of the winter months, I am in a hurry to get a dry fly trout as quickly as possible I have no idea how many opportunities will present themselves, so I've got to put effort in and make the best of each shot I'm given. It took me a few days this month to get the job done, with fishing slowed by melting snow.

It was all textbook, and very much déjà vu. I'd done in many difficult months in the same pool, standing in the same spot, casting the same fly pattern. Never doubt the Ausable Bomber. From the gravel bar, kneeling, I sent a 30 foot cast to the top of the pool. Like a streamer, I stripped the fly back. Even in the dead of winter a big, animated dry fly is liable to pull a fish up. Like a white shark going after a seal, I saw a brookie come up mouth wide open, slowly miss the fly, wake after it with it's dorsal sticking up above the surface, then swirl and make the connection. Winter eats on big dries are interesting, and they don't ever tell the story of how big the fish is. I'd have thought this one was going to be larger, even though the take wasn't dramatic or explosive in any way. A slow, lethargic, winter trout rise can make a small fish seem larger or a large fish seem smaller. In the end, size doesn't matter. This is a wild fish, living where it should, doing what it evolved to do.

There are difficult months ahead in terms of dry fly fishing. Very difficult. But I've done it each month for going on five years now, so I'll just do it again. Though I may through my own wrench in my own gears, if it stops being a challenge and gets repetitive it is no longer worth it.

Until next time.

Fish for the love of fish.

Fish for the love of places fish live.

Fish for you.

Thank you to my Patrons; Erin, David, John, Elizabeth, Chris, Brandon, Christopher, and Shawn for supporting this blog on Patreon.