A Preview of Coming Attractions

On Tuesday, as I packed up for another trip to Rocky Ford Creek, the first red-winged blackbirds of Spring were serenading the morning. It was a new day at the creek, overcast with a chilly breeze.

The bead head that had worked so well on the last trip was getting no looks. Funny, I had tied up a few more versions using the same secret ingredients: red thread, black marabou, and peacock herl. The new flies got no looks either.

I may have found the new secret fly when this fish took a red marabou bead head micro leech. But it was the last one I had, and he took it with him when he twisted out of my hand into the water as I lifted him out of the net.

I got to do a lot of field testing of a variety of flies. I even tried a little stimulator, to no effect. The sun broke through as I whiled away the afternoon.

This little guy liked a pheasant tail nymph under an indicator, but he was the only one.

Rocky Ford has a no-wading regulation, so this time I had brought one of the essentials for bank fishing. It was pleasant to sit back and take a break a couple of times, and think about what to try next.

I never found the sure-fire fly. But as the sun sank, so did the breeze. There are always random fish jumping and rolling here and there. But now a few started rising to something I couldn't see.

I tied on a little Griffith's gnat, cast it out, and got a lovely sipping take. I hooked him, the first hookup on a dry this year. For a few shining moments I had a flying rainbow on the end of my line. He didn't break me off, he just jumped off the hook.

That put them down. The sun sank out of sight, the breeze picked up again, and the temperature started to drop. I packed up my chair and packed it in.

Sure would have been nice to get that one in the net. But no, that was just a teaser, a preview of coming attractions.

Can't wait to see the movie.