April in the books.

1.  Caddis.  In consult with Winona Fly Factory we got on some good caddis hatches end of April.

Watching kid pitch dry fly.  He got quite a few fish using a simple EHC.

After training the kids to use smooth looping flips and rolls for nymphs, I had to reconfigure a bit and get him to punch the dry fly back and forward and then lay it out.  Good study of different physics required for various approaches.

He would have had twice as many fish to hand had he not bass-set on a bunch of them - pulled fly clear of mouth.  Pretty spots on this one.

HI water can be deep.  Kids like waders.

We were treated to notably larger than average dry fly fish.  Quite a few in the 11-12" range and some edging into lower teens.

Best part was that we used one fly all day. This piece of garbage dubbed body with a hacker elk hair wing.  No hackle.  They just flat out murdered it.  Sometimes simpler than we'd like to make it out to be.

We stayed in this old granary that the landowners remodeled into a simple domicile. Just right for us.  Markedly less money per night than a hotel which led kids to ask why we would ever stay in a hotel again. 

2. Streamer fishing old water

Few days later did some streamer fishing. Hadn't been on this water in many years.  My return was pleasure and also recon and study.  

Many fish of this year class eating simple black leeches.

The water was better than I remember it.  The flood of 2007 hammered it wide and shallow but it is recovering.  A lot of good streamer water.

3.  Afternoon streamer fishing favorite water.

Meeting down south a bit so fished afternoon.  Right before a big storm.  It got silly really quickly.

Second hole of the day; it's always the second hole.  And here is one two three every time.  Fish laying in the tail, in the head, and at the very top of the gray pool.  

Think I will just nymph in the winter and late summer now. Otherwise dries and streamers.  Nothing but drab streamers on this day and the fish were just dropping hammers.  Every little piece of water showed action.  

Often tie light streamers knowing I can pinch a BB at the head if I want to make it heavier in the field.  This afternoon fished probably 3.5 hours and it was >30 fish to hand with minimal effort.  Something in the air and the weather had them just banging.  I started playing tag after a while -pulling fly away.

4. tacos

Crema sauce that is sour cream, mayo, lime, cilantro and some other ingredients.

Made these for a number of people.  One guy said better than any resto fare.  A kid went home and told his parents about fancy tacos made with fish meat.  Pretty solid way to consume protein from the stream.