April 2016 Fly Fishing

April 2016 was slim pickings for trout fishing around these parts.  Partly because the water is still very cold, but mostly because the stock trucks haven't made their rounds yet. :)

I fished for 4 hours to catch something this cold, windy day near the end of April at a trout pond up in Errol.  This little guy took the #20 buggy-looking dropper fly that I had behind the #12 damsel larva main fly.

 Another day near the end of April I dragged this guide's choice hare's ear and dropper for 3 hours, along with numerous other flies, and came up empty.  Possibly it was because the water was still quite cold, but likely it was because the stock trucks hadn't made their rounds yet. ;)

Occasionally our family dog tags along on a fishing expedition.

This first pond trout of the year took the dropper fly behind my beadhead wooly bugger - it was a #18 peacock and black wooly bugger.  I do well with very small buggers, particularly in spring with holdover and native fish.  I think they take them for damsel fly larva, small bait fish and all kinds of other food they typically eat.

Here's the bugger combo.  The #10 bugger looks like a giant compared to the typically more productive #18 dropper bugger. Though I usually like the hackle on my buggers longer than standard to provide a bit more movement in the water, the bigger bugger in this photo sports unusually long hackle... might have been the result of a bit too much cold beer at the tying bench. ;) 

In late April bugs FINALLY began to hatch above surface.  This one was a Hendrickson, one of the earliest mayflies.  There was a pretty good hatch, but nothing was rising to them.  Possibly because the water was still cold, but mostly it was because the stock trucks hadn't made their rounds yet. :)