Doing Everything Right.

Today was not what I expected. Maybe my goals are set to high. For the most part I think I'm doing everything right. I'm going to all the right streams. I'm using the correct tackle. I'm where the fish are early and stay late. But my numbers of fish are down. One or two per day is not going to get me into the pros.

Today I had time around 2:30 to go to Oatka creek. When I entered the stream a hatch of Hendricksons were in full flight. Browns were nipping the tops of riffles and rising in the flats. I tossed my first cast in fast water and my #14 dry rocked over the riffles into a feeding fish. It was on and off again, for I was not prepared to set the hook on my first cast. But my expectations increased. I threw my second cast and another roll of a fish and another miss. Now every time I think I'm going to score, It seems I find a tree with my back cast. So I lost my dry. I tied on another but the fish stopped rising. I retied a #14 hares ear nymph and fished the same run and again I got two hits with no result. The fish would spit it out as soon as he took it.

The sun was warm and the hatch continued. I moved down stream, thinking these fish have seen to much action already. I came across a rise near the creek bank. I slowly snuggled up against a large tree and began presenting a dry to the hungry trout. No strike came after placing a few nice casts dead nuts in the drift. I then tossed one outside the drift and swung it to the trout. He took the fly and I could see he was writhing with torment. He rolled and I held him back realing in my slackline. I was sure to land this one because he was pulling the rod tip hard. But my excitement soon ended as he rolled again and came off. This is how my luck has been going. When moving around the tree I was resting against I realized how bad my luck is. Poison ivy vines as big as my arms were clinging to where I had been leaning.