Big warm up the past few days.  Temperatures in the 70s.  Warm temperatures are supposed to continue through Wednesday.  Wednesday night looks like chances of rain which will continue into Thursday which will bring a cool down.  Mid 60s Thursday, low 50s Friday, but warming up Saturday and Sunday into the mid 60s. 

We have seen no generation since Wednesday and then they ran two generators for a while Wednesday night.  Tomorrow’s projection shows the eqeuivalent of a low one generator all day.  We really need this to clean some of the algae out of the river.  Getting pretty “uckie” in places.

Wonderful day on the water this past Saturday.  Jim went out in the afternoon with Don and Ramona from Arkansas.  Both are fairly new fly fishers and Jim worked with them on technique.  they caught fish on the black zebra midge, the primrose & pearl and strilling a gold/olive CQ streamer.  Stan on the water all day with Kenny and Andrea from the St. Charles area.  Carolyn took their friends, Mark and Lisa from Wright City.  Another great fly fishing day for Kenny and Andrea.  They fished with Stan last November.  Although they caught fish on several patterns, probably their best pattern was the size 16 insect green soft hackle (light olive).   By the way, this was Kenny and Andrea’s birthdays.  Happy birthday!  Carolyn’s couple, Mark and Lisa are pretty new to fly fishing so we started out working a bit on casting.  Started out with the roll cast and progressed to the pick up and lay down cast.  Good students!  They did very well and finished up the bulk of the day catching lots of fish.  Probably the best pattern was the size 18 ruby midge.  Hooked a few on the insect green soft hackle, the holographic green crackleback and a primrose & pearl midge.  For a while in the afternoon, Lisa just stood in one place above Trophy Run with a smile on her face catching fish.

Lisa's fat 17" rainbow - 4/13/13

Couple of cool days to get out of the way so we can start warming up again.  Yesterday probably made it into the 50s and we should see that again today.  Pretty cool this morning!  Tomorrow will be in the low 60s and back into the 70s for Sunday through Wednesday when we will see chances of rain again.  After the rain, we will probably see mid 50s for a couple days then another warm up. 

Had generation this past Tuesday, but it has been off every day since then.  Off today and the sun is shining! 

My guy from Orvis, Mike, and I went fishing this past Tuesday.  Had a low two generators going in the morning for a while then they cut it back to a low for the rest of the morning into late afternoon.  What a fun day!!  Mike was fishing a sweet little 10′ 3 weight Helios 2 and I was throwing the 5 weight.  Lots of nice rainbows on the size 18 ruby midge dropped under either the lightning bug or the size 16 tungsten beadhead red midge.  Fished well all the way from the area just above Trophy Run, through the Trophy Run area down to the Pointe Island.  Tuesday was exceptionally good on the backside of the Pointe Island.  We then went on down to the drop off of gravel area above Fall Creek where we pulled out more fish and finished up on the bank just above where Fall Creek comes in. 

L

Now we are having some nice weather.  70s yesterday, but a bit windy.  We are in the 70s again today and expect 70s through Tuesday.  Slight chance of showers tonight, but the best chance looks like Wednesday.  After that, temperatures will cools down a bit into the upper 50s or low 60s.

The only generation we have seen over the past six days was Friday, when we had the equivalent of two units in the morning which cut back to a low one unit in the late morning and a little blip Saturday night.  Otherwise, no generation.  The projection for Monday is similar to what occurred Friday.  It fished good Friday.

Carolyn on the water Friday with Diana and her friend Bill.  They are from the Independence, MO area.  Started out a little slow in the a.m. but certainly made up for it later in the morning and, basically all day long.  Beautiful weather, very little wind and lots of fish on the big ruby with a size 18 ruby dropper, or stripping the 56er or holographic green crackleback.  We did the full run and caught most of our fish through the Trophy Run area as well as the gravel bar above Fall Creek.  We just figured it was a perfect day…couldn’t get much better!

Talked to several fishers the past two days and several of them were catching on the CQ streamer, ruby midge and the rusty midge.  Also working is a fun pattern that we use for a short period of time in the spring….a rockworm caddis green soft hackle  and a light olive soft hackle.  Both of these work in a size 16.  The caddis green was working best yesterday and the day before.

Cold, wet, and windy are the three words to describe yesterday.  Today is better, but it is still a bit chilly.  Looking for mid 50s and still a chance for rain tomorrow.  Friday is looking up…..upper 60s and mostly sunny, Saturday low 70s and partly cloudy, or partly sunny (I like this one better).  Sunday will be in the mid 60s and chances of (40%) thunderstorms.  Next week looks like upper 60 to low 70s and chances (again, 40-50%) of rain.

No generation the past two days.  Wehad a couple unit going Monday morning, but they turned it off and it has been off ever since.  Prior to that, we had almost three solid days of generation.

Stan on the water last Friday with Stan and Ruth from Illinois.  Great day for these guys on the copper dun and P&P midges, and stripping the holographic green crackleback.  It was a little cool and rainy in the morning, but turned out to be a very nice day after noon. 

This past Saturday and Sunday were both slower than we have been experiencing.  Both mornings started out with rain and the water was running.    Any trips on the water had to work for the fish.  Stan had Walt and his friend, Dick, from Georgia on the water all day Sunday.  They caught fish, mainly on the CQ streamer, and, as I said, they worked for them.  Monday was a whole different day.  Anything you put on  almost caught fish.  The guys had a fun time  fishing soft hackles.  This was their first experience and they thought that was great.  When they got tired of catching on the soft hackles, they went to the CQ streamer again.  Tuesday, in the cold, rainy, windy day, they went out for a couple hours and caught the heck out of them again on these patterns, but it got so miserable, it was a shorten trip.  These guys have fished a lot and a lot of places and were really fun to fish with.

Now I know why they say “spastic as a March hare”  They must have been thinking about the weather!  Past couple weeks, the weather has been that way!  Last Monday it was in the 30s with 30 mph winds.  Yesterday is was in the low 70s with very little wind.  We are looking at 60s tomorrow, then 40s Tuesday.  Good news, by the weekend, back into the 60s and 70s through Monday.  No moisture chances except for this coming Tuesday.

Generation schedule not quite what they projected over the weekend.  No generation today….wrong!  One generator on at 7:00 a.m. and it is still on.  Projection for tomorrow says one low for a while in the a.m. then off for 5-6 hours and back on in the late afternoon.  As always, we’ll see.

Stan on the water last Monday with Dean and Chris from Oklahoma.  If it was warmer than 30 degrees in Oklahoma, I think they wished they had stayed home.  It was bitter on the river, but they stuck it out for the day.  Terrible weather to get introduced to fly fishing!  They had a good day on the lightning bug with a ruby dropper. 

Tuesday was definitely warmer.  Darrell had Bob from Canada out for half a day.  Good day fishing on the Primrose & Pearl midge. 

Tom and his daughter, Taylor, spent half a day Wednesday on the water with Carolyn.  Fun day for us.  New experience for Taylor and she did very well.  Good day for father/daughter on the P&P, or ruby dropped from the lightning bug. 

Thursday, Gina introduced David, and his two daughters, Rachael and Megan to fly fishing.  They had a great day learning and catching on the primrose & pearl midge.

Rachael - 3/28/13David & Megan - 3/28/13

Weather has been good.  Maybe not as good as the fishing as we are still battling wind every day, but warm and sunny most of the time.  However, I think this is coming to an abrupt end for the next 3-4 days.  We are supposed to see ice and snow with a high in the mid 30s tomorrow.  Friday looks like cloudy with a chance of rain and snow (50%) and a high around 40.  Saturday, cloudy with a chance of rain and snow (again, 50%0 an a high in the upper 40s…..snow won’t stay around too long.  Sunday we are still looking at a chance for rain and snow, with lower temperatures in the low 40s.  Good news now.  Monday through Thursday the temperatures will start warming up.  Start out Monday with mid 40 and end up Thursday with upper 50s.  Partly sunny each day.

Generation continues to be minimal.  On the days they are running, it is pretty low.  No generation yesterday and again today.  Yesterday they started out with a low one, upped it to a low two for a little while then back to a low one.  According to the projection, we will have no generation tomorrow.

Fishing continues to be great, especially when they are not generating.  With the low generation, fishing is still very good, but not quite as good as with it off.

Stan had Gary and Stephen on the water this past Sunday.  That was one of those low generation days that was outstanding.  This was Gary’s birthday present from his wife and it turned out to be a great birthday present!  Despite the heavy wind and the fact that the temperature did not get above 40 until 3:00 p.m. good bite all day and lots of fish to the boat on the P&P and ruby midges. 

Tuesday, Dana had Damon and his father-in-law, Richard, out for half a day.  This was the day they increased the flow for a couple hours in the morning before cutting it back to a low.  Even with the erratic water, it was a good day for these guys on the P&P, the big ruby and a size 16 red midge.  By the way, happy birthday Richard!  Jim had Scott and his son Chandler out for half a day.  Good day for these guys too on the red midge the P&P and a black midge with gold head.  

Jake - 3/19/13

Darrell had a fun day teaching a couple nice young men how to fly fish.  Jake and his friend, Eliot, spent  Tuesday catching fish on the P&P midge.  Good day for these two both in learning and in catching fish.

Eliot - 3/19/13

Awesome weather the past four days EXCEPT for the wind!  Temperatures in the 60s and 70s with lots of sunshine.  However, every day is another day and today it is rainy, and much cooler……,mid 40s.  Tomorrow should be in the 50s and partly cloudy.  Slight chance of showers.

We had not seen generation for maybe the past 10 days, other than a 1-2 hours spike in the morning, until this past Friday.  Friday morning they cranked up two generators for a while, then put them back to a low one mid-day, then back up again.  Yesterday was a pretty steady low one unit, and today we are seeing a low one unit.  They did have two running for 2-3 hours, but as I write (noon), it is back to a low one (as projected) and is supposed to stay at a low one all day.  Tomorrow, the projection is for no generation all day.

Darrell on the water all day last Monday with Nick and Mike from the St. Charles area.  Great day on the black zebra and the copper headed back zebra midges. 

Wednesday, Stan had Boyd from Nebraska out all day.  Another great day fishing!  Weather was a bit cold and windy, but the fish didn’t care.  Lots of fish on the ruby midge and the red ass soft hackle.

Micha - 3/13/13

Wednesday, Carolyn took Micha, the grandson of one of our customers, out for a couple hours to work with him on the roll cast,  pick up and lay down cast, and line management.  Quick learner, throwing a pretty good line, and picked up on catching real fast!

Stan then took Micha and his grandfather, Harold on a half day trip Thursday and they had a great day on the P&P midge.  Of course, Micha did well.  At one time, I think he was out fishing his grandfather!  Darrell back on the water Thursday with Dave and Gary from Independence, MO.  Fairly new fly fishers had a gang-buster day on the size 16 red midge and an 18 P&P midge.  Windy!

Bob – 3/14/13

Carolyn on the water all day Thursday with Bob and Mary Ann.  Awesome day on the P&P and ruby midges.  Caught a few stripping the CQ streamer and holographic green crackleback.   Windy! 

Friday, Stan took John and Tharon from Wyoming out for half a day float.  This was the day they decided to turn on the generators, and fishing was definitely not as good has it has been with the generation off.  However, it was a beautiful day, 80s, sunshine, but windy!  They had a good day, on the red midge and holographic green crackleback.  Mike and Trish from Texas, spent the day on the water with Carolyn.  Not a bad day, not a great day, but certainly a good day.  We put several fish to the boat on a size 18 ruby midge dropped from the size 16 lightning bug.  And, it was certainly a fun day.  Not windy until the last hour!

Saturday, Darrell and Carolyn spent the day on the water with Dawn, Albert and James Albert from Louisiana.  Always a fun day.  Certainly started out slow in the a.m., but by the afternoon we had either figured it out or the fish decided they were hungery.  Finished up the day on a good note with a good day on red soft hackles, beadhead hare’s ear nymph, ruby midge, P&P midge, holographic green or silver cracklebacks and the 56er.  Dawn caught a pretty brown on a size 18 ruby midge.

Dawn - 3/16/13

Weather has been great, except for the wind.  But if it was perfect, we would not have anything to grunch about.  Rain today and even a very slight chance of snow tonight.  Tomorrow will be much cooler than it has been…mid 40s, and mostly cloudy.  By Tuesday, we will warm up into the upper 50s, so with Wednesday.  Thursday…look out!  upper 60s to low 70s, Friday mid 60s and Saturday low 70s again.  Maybe Spring has sprung!

We continue to see no generation!  Off again today and projected to be off tomorrow.  We’ll see what tomorrow brings.  We know they have to generate something someday!

Can’t think of a better word to describe fishing except fantastic!  Almost everyone catching lots of fish on lots of patterns and still some very nice rainbows. 

Jim on the water last Wednesday with Jack and DJ from Florida.  These two firefighters had a great on the water catching and learning.  Jim worked with them on casting techniques and streamer work.  So they caught fish on the boack midge with a blood worm dropper and the CQ Streamer. 

Don and Steve from Illinois spent Thursday on the water with Stan.   Great day.  Steve has now broken his all time record for the number of fish to the boat.  They caught fish all day on the P&P with the ruby dropper and the red ass soft hackle.  Only negative to their day was fighting the wind!  Not a problem, didn’t hurt the catching any.

Friday, Darrell took Marv and Richard out for half a day.  Marv is from Indiana and Richard from Kansas.  They both try to fish here every year some time in March or April.  Great day for these guys too.  Fished the P&P midge and the P&P soft hackle.  Fun day!  Stan had Doc from Oklahoma out all day.  Lots of fish on the P&P midge for Doc! 

Worked with a lady from Michigan for a short time yesterday.  She is brand new to fly fishing and just wanted to catch a fish.  Once she got her fly into the water, the fish did the rest.  Hope she doesn’t think it will be this easy all the time.  In a short period fo time she caught several fish on the size 18 ruby midge.  Her best catch of the day was a 22 inch rainbow stripping the CQ streamer. 

Gina and I played a little  Friday afternoon.  Fun day on the CQ streamer and the olive filoplume.  We have been sending folks out with the red or red ass soft hackle, P&P and ruby midges, and reports are “catching” on all these patterns.

Today, Monday, was fantastic.  Temperatures in the 60s and mostly sunny.  Tomorrow will be another day with temperatures expected to be in the mid 40s, sunny start giving way to cloudy skies and brisk winds, 15-20 mph.  We will start the upswing Wednesday when we will see clearing and temperatures in the mid to upper 40s.  Thursday looks like mid 50s and clear, but Friday will be the winner.  Temperatures in the low 60s, mostly clear and low winds.  Sunday is showing a chance of showers but temperatures in the mid tu upper 50s. 

No generation for at least the past four days.  It has been a waders heaven!  According to the projection, we will see another no generation day again tomorrow.  Lots of fishers enjoying the nice weather and off generation and very good fishing!

Stan on the water Sunday with Mike and his soon to be son-in-law, Adam.  Very good half day for these guys on the red ass soft hackle, a few on a dark olive soft hackle.  Also caught them on the size 18 ruby and rusty midges.  Caught several on the red and green cracklebacks.  Fun day.  Great weather!

Just wanted to remind everyone of the spey/switch rod clinic we have schedule here at River Run Outfitters on March 16, 2013.  Cost for the clinic is only $50.00.  We still have a couple slots open.  It will be four hour clinic and equipment will be provided.  Add another technique to your arsenal.  You can swing a 4 weight with soft hackles or an 8 weight with big bugs.  It can be the answer on those heavy generation days when you can’t wade out there and get them.  Check our website under “Fly Fishing Schools/Fly Tying Clinics” for more information.