This and that.

Noticed that the temperature gage  at Lordville soared up over 76 yesterday.  Thought it strange as the temp started out at around 66 and should have been fine. A close look at the USGS graph  shows the problem as the jagged line turns into a straight line mid afternoon and heads towards the sky.  The gage is broken and currently out of service (at a critical time I might add). There is a big surge on the way down which is designed to take care of today's predicted 93 degree air temp.

Speaking of the surge, got caught on the wrong side of the river last night and was surprised by the fog, depth of the water and strength of the current coming across in the dark.  It also explained why both the sulfurs and fish quit early.

Yesterday fishing in the Sulfur Zone water was a pure delight. Standing in 45 degree water beats an air conditioner every time. Catching, however, was another story. The fish have upped their game in the last week and refusals, for me, now outnumber takes by at least ten to one. . Will be tying some new flies this morning.

Several questions / observations appeared in the comments on the last couple of posts so here are my thoughts. 

Jim N. - Asked what I consider downstream" for near dark fishing. In the article I said that water temp set the boundaries. You can fish anywhere that the water is below 70 degrees. Monday night when the rain started to come down in Deposit I headed downstream and actually fished a place on the BR way up high where the WB water had not yet mixed with the bathtub hot water from the EB. Got there way to early (7:00) but stuck it out and from 8:30 until 9:15 the fish fed and weren't the least bit fussy about what they ate.

Jack M. - You undoubtedly tangled with that Chamber of Commerce brown that just everyone has been catching but your observations are spot on. Early in the hatch, especially in the riffs the fish are feeding almost exclusively on nymphs. The rises are caused by fish taking a nymph near the surface, turning and returning to their lie. The rise is a boil and sometimes a little splashy. The rises we dry fly fishermen want to see are the ones where the trout's nose comes out of the water with an audible glop and a fly disappears. These rises are more common during the latter part of the hatch when there are fewer nymphs in the water and the fish turn their attention to  the duns. You should always be looking for fish feeding on top as they are the ones most likely to eat your fly. 

Jim N. - Right now nothing consistently produces takes. Take the time to look at the water during the hatch, there are flies sitting upright with wings open, ones with wings closed. some flat on the water like spinners, some still with their feet in the nymph husk, some with genetic defects, some that have just been blown over (they are all the real thing). I take flies home, refrigerate them overnight and use them for models the next morning. If you are a tier the options are endless.  If you are buying your flies, get a pair of fly tying scissors and  trim where necessary to get the flies looking right. Don't waste time fishing with flies that don't at least get a refusal.