Walked into the middle river on Saturday. The river is in good shape. Still has a bit of color and shelf ice was negligible, though that can change very quickly. With lows around 10 last night the shelf ice should gain some ground, even in the spring laden middle river. Though today we’re expecting highs close to 30 and for Tuesday the forecasted high is 33. Should make for some good fishing, though keep your eye on the weather as its supposed to be warmest tonight and into tomorrow morning, a bit different for this time of year. And with lows close to 0 degrees Wed through Sat, today and tomorrow will be your best bet for catching fish.
I swung a simple black and purple tube pattern: black bucktail wing, purple rabbit strip collar, ten or so pieces of flashabou under the wing, and big Hareline oval pupil eyes. Picked up a nice brown, though I’m not sure if it’s a smallish lake run or a very nice resident. No steelhead.
The studs I added to my Patagonia Riverwalker sticky rubber boots were a big improvement, though they still aren’t great on snow and ice. A think another few studs added under the ball of the foot will help.