A lot had changed since my last visit (3? 4 years ago??), most obviously the number of deadfallen trees in the water. At least half a dozen logs blocked the first 100 or so yards of stream, as opposed to teh single one I could remember. More trees were leaning in toward the river, likely to fall at some point in the future. And of course, trees holding their ground were larger, their tops further crowding the stream channel. All of which made for tougher wading and casting.
I waded down for an hour or so with my trusty OWB--usually a sure thing there, but I caught nothing Thursday. Same story working back up with a large dry Borcher's drake. I was able to cover water better with the dry, since I was fishing up and not trying to retrieve, but drys have rarely done well for me there. All that wood in the water means more trout habitat, of course, but much of it is near impossible to reach with a fly. I'm seriously considering breaking out the old spinning rod and trying it some morning next week.
Around 9:30 I made it back to the bridge where I'd accessed the creek, and a few largish mayflies were gathering overhead. From their silhouettes I'd have guessed grey drake, but when a few dropped to eye level I could see they were a buttery yellow--golden drakes. I rarely see these on trout waters up north, though I know they're common on the Huron. I probably could have roughly matched them with a grey drake or large rusty spinner, though I didn't get the opportunity to try. I waited until 10:00, but none made it to the water, and no rises showed. By then I had started to wonder if the flies had dispersed, but when a truck passed over the bridge its headlights revealed a blizzard of straw-tinted flakes swirling in countless directions.
*****
Last week while reading an outdoor discussion forum I saw one of the most poetic typos ever: "...deer ambering through the woods." Very apt.
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