Spring Forward

Each year when the clock springs forward sometime in March it typically throws me for a loop. I woke up around 6 am and got into my usual routine. Stretching, coffee, skimming through my news feed and cooking breakfast in preparation for a long day on the water. As I pulled out of the driveway I was caught off guard the sun wasn't up yet. This time of year...there really isn't any need to rush to the rivers. The crowds of summer are a few months out and most people don't want to brave the cold in those early hours of the morning. The trout bite can be somewhat slow too. I took the drive over to the next valley a little slower today, taking in the sunrise and calm that set's in before the masses awake.

As excepted I was the only vehicle in the lot when I arrived. I knew it was only a matter of time before I got some company so I elected to take a long walk and rig up when I got to my destination. 30 minutes of hiking through the glacier field and I sat down in a side channel contemplating how to approach the day.

It's that time of year when the rainbows are starting to think about spawning, and they need to pack on those pounds before the mating season begins. This provoked me to use a standard Stone Fly Nymph and something with lots of protein....a good ole San Juan Worm. I got to work and was a little stumped at first. This river has spoiled me over the years so when I don't get into fish immediately I start to question my tactics.  I battled through the doubt and started focusing on the water. I had been casting in the head of the riffle when it dawned on me that it's still Winter out here and the fish are probably still laying in slower currents. So I backed up and fished the tail end of the riffle where the water was slower. Sure enough I got into 3 fish laying in the same area. I think I jumped the gun early on because it felt like spring out there today. The fish are still laying in that calmer water looking for an easy meal. Bouncing your flies off the bottom is a must right now. The action was good but not great for the remainder of the day. Rotating through nymph's did little to spark any crazy bite. The name of the game was thoroughly working the run and assuring I was down deep.

I was greeted with a visitor around lunch. It was not another fisherman but a coyote. This little guy got a little too curious and came within 20 yards of me. I was taken off guard and pulled my bear spray when he got uncomfortably close! Luckily he turned away after dipping his body in the river....maybe it was a little too cold to mess with me, he must of been thrown for a loop too with the clock change.