Live from Mio, 8/15

Greetings from the Mio McDonalds...

The school year is bearing down on me--I'm back at it next Monday--and the trip to Mio I'd planned for the end of that week is off thanks to an abruptly called meeting.  But I'm well along in my preparation, so yesterday I snuck off for a 2-dayer up on the trophy waters.

Didn't get up until about 6 last night, and after waiting out a rainstorm in the Paddle Inn and setting up my tent, I didn't get in the river until nearly 8.  Which would be fine for catching the ephoron hatch, which was my objective in coming up, but none emerged.  Not surprising since the temp dropped about 10 degrees and stayed there once it passed.  Did see a few  late isos on the wing, but none falling and no feeding.  I did catch one planter brown and 'bow on a beadhead ephoron soft hackle.

I didn't want to leave things there, so I drove up to the south branch for a mousing excursion--hadn't done any night fishing this year aside from my pathetic hex hatch venture.  I chose a stretch where I've caught some good browns at night before, but hardly recognized it in the low water, at least so far as I could see the river's features in the half-clouded starlight and feel where it touched my waders.  There was a long stretch of exposed timber along one bank that in ordinary summer water conditions would be at least half submerged.  When I walked over to that bank  to retrieve my mouse after snagging it on the wood, the water barely covered my boots.

I did land a 13" brown when my mouse swung across a chute, but that was it.  A long deep bend (which was still about knee deep) that was the spot I most wanted to fish turned up nothing.

Made it back to camp around 1.  By then the clouds had cleared and I saw stars like I hadn't all summer.  Too little time outdoors, and usually when the moon was strong.  Cassieopia and the Little Dipper stood out like spotlights.  Lightning flashed in the north from time to time, but the promised clearing had finally come and today is cloudless, still, and warm but not scorching.  Looking forward to a good afternoon on the river.