I managed a few hours of fishing today while my daughter was either napping.
The water continues to be just silly-high. Places I’ve had locked for high water were under water. Drifts I’ve come to depend on in difficult times were nowhere to be had.
This willow normally isn't 2 feet under water...
This usually isn't under water in June either.
On a day like this you are forced to look at the river through fresh eyes and let go of the mental map you have of the river. I don’t think it was a coincidence that as soon as I came to that conclusion I caught the first fish of the day.
Lip hooked with a Mercer Stone.
Purdy.
Dunsmuir Tail
On the journey along the tracks I also took maybe the best picture I’ve ever taken of the Upper Sac. This particular vantage shows my favorite water on earth. It isn’t a bonefish flat. It is my home water. To the left, I caught my first trout on a fly by myself. To the right, my favorite riffle. Of course, there is about 3-4 feet more water in the river right now, but this water is just dear to me. I want to share this spot with as many people as I can.
This is where my fly fishing life started.
I don’t think I’m going to be getting out on the water tomorrow, but that’s OK. My dad and I have a day on some private water on Thursday before we head back South. The weather is supposed to turn with showers showing up on the weather outlook. I noticed snow still under the trees as we went over the summit to McCloud this evening. There is a lot of water still to come down.
These are classic rainbows in their native range.
I ended up landing 6 fish today, losing a handful of others. That is probably about as much as I could hope for and probably better than most would expect, given the rather challenging conditions. Still… you go fishing in the river you have, not the river as you might want it to be.
