The fly patch tells the tale
I was looking for something in the gear locker and saw the flies still on the drying patch. It got me thinking about how that fly patch tells the story of my last fishing adventure.
Looking at those flies still on the patch brought back the memories of that trip. It gave me a chance to retrace my steps along the stream in my mind.
Those streamers I used to explore a long deep pool and give my small stream streamer game a workout. The golden retriever is a “go to.” The muddler is a recent addition to the lineup.1 A throwback my old friend Bill Curry encouraged me to use.
There are a couple of different dries I used as the day went on. A big bushy easily floating Royal Dry Humper along with the more refined parachute Adams, BWO and caddis emerger. A few nymphs, the workhorses of every outing, complete the picture.
I’ll get around to putting them back in the boxes they came from, but for now I think I’ll keep them on the patch as a reminder of my last outing and some good times to come.
For more on the muddler, Jason Tucker wrote an excellent piece in Gink and Gasoline.
I fish primarily northern Maine during the caddis hatch. I get lost in middle space letting a #16 CDC emerger drift past my roll cast stance in knee deep water, waiting with anticipation for that tug on the parachute rise to the surface.
So, inquiring minds want to know- did the Muddler work? 😎