" 10 "

               Hello all and thanks for checking in at the O’Grady Fly Fishing Adventures. The movie “10” came out in 1979 and pretty much blew everyone away. The movie was hilarious, sexy and actually changed American culture. Corn rows became the hairdo of the hotties and the number 10 became the word for anything awesome. And I don't know any man that didn't have a Bo fantasy. Now nearly forty years later, myself and Bo probably have more defined wrinkles than she had corn rows but the number 10 is still totally meaningful to me as a fly fisherman.

               As most of you know, Cat spent four long years in college getting her biology degree and took several classes on entomology and ichthyology. What she found was that there is both fly fishing science and book science. Now over the years, at times I have had to ask Cat about temps, about bugs and about a multitude of scientific fishy things. What has happened is that through all the tutorage, I have developed some of my own fishy science. And yes, many times Cat will tell me that I have the right to be wrong. But anyway, I have come to the conclusion that the magical number “10” is what I am looking for every fall. It seems to me that right about the time the water out of the damn drops into the 50-degree mark, the river turns on, and fishes very well until the temps drop below 40. This year the warm temps has kept the water temps up and the fishing conditions very unpredictable. Hatches were nearly impossible to predict and some days you really saw very few bugs at all. On Saturday, I was teaching my nephew how to fly fish and I saw my first “real” BWO hatch of the fall. Monday’s trip had giant BWO’s hatching early and then a huge hatch in the afternoon. I went home and checked the temps and what do you know, the beginning of my magical number is here.

               After yesterday’s bug frenzy, Cat and I decided we better get out. I’m not sure how many great days we will have but I know how many degrees we have. The first hour was a little slow with not much action and then the river came alive. The dinks and medium sized fish were gorging on the surface and the piggies were definitely moving into the feeding lanes. Now my favorite part about this time of the year is how technically fun the river can be. If you are in a feeding lane, have an accurate cast and a drag free drift when the bugs hatch than you are gonna have a good day. If not….the fish will let you know.

               Late in the day, Cat and I started talking about what we think of the fighting ability of our new Sage X’s. We have caught plenty of fish this fall and are absolutely in love with the weight and cast-ability of the rod but really haven’t really been able to develop a strong opinion of the fighting ability of the rod. Well after the next several fish, and in my best Forrest Gump voice, I like it a lot. Cat’s next hookup was an 18-incher that began to take her down river into a faster riffle and she was able to turn the fish, steer it around a rock, and finish by filling her net.  I didn’t even need to ask, her smile said it all. And then it hit me, I was thinking about the magical number “10” and how awesome my next ten degrees will be and the I looked down at my rod. Sage may call it the “X”, but in English that translates to “10”

               If you have been considering a guide trip, to learn or to just catch fish then the next 10-degrees should be the time to get it done. Medium to strong hatches should drive the fish batty. Dries for dinks and nymphs for the piggies, whatever your pleasure, we can help. FOD’s and Hi-vis baetis were the ticket today. Now I do have a little bad news to report before I finish, when I got back to my car today I saw that someone had a broken window. The river has been really trouble free for the last few years and I am hoping this was an isolated incident. A few hints to help but not a guarantee, spend the extra five minutes and drive into the park and be very careful of what thieves can see when they look into your car. As always, Connell, Cat, Winston, Bo Derek, and the Drift Fly Shop want to thank you for reading…….