On my first fishing trip of 2017, the fishing was tough. Considering the temperatures, I decided to go to the swift for its tailwater temps. I spent most of my time nymphing various flies, and only had a few subtle takes. I fished a lot of midges, scuds, and even tried an egg pattern.

There were a ton of people on the river, which I found odd for a Wednesday. I didn’t see another person catch anything for the first few hours, so it seems that it was just one of those days. In the afternoon, I made my way below the route 9 bridge, and saw a few tiny midges flying about. I tied on a size 24 griffith’s gnat with a soft hackle dropper, and was able to land my only fish of the day. Believe it or not, the trout took the dry. There was only one other guy nearby fishing tiny dries and also caught a couple.

My catch swimming away.

It’s important to be willing to switch gears until you find something that works.  Sometimes, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results.