The beginning of this week started with a bump in flows to above the 2k mark at Varney. It stayed pretty level all week between 2000 and 2300k. Those are pretty juicy flows below Varney. On the one hand it makes those sweeping turns even faster, but on the other hand it fills in some side channels just perfectly. The weather ranged from downright blue bird perfect 65 degrees, sunny, and calm to 3" of snow and 25 degrees as I write this!
The fishing bounced around from pretty good to tough at times. The fishing down low was pretty awesome again this week, as well as up high. The catching picked up a little this week in the middle portion of the Upper, but still having better luck at the top or bottom ends of the Upper right now. Thankfully, Ennis Lake started filling up enough to use the trolling motor this week! Fish are beginning to spread out on the lake but are still staging at the mouths of the river for the most part.
Girdle bugs along the banks with worm patterns and prince nymphs is the quickest way to get into fish. We've also tried some streamer action in those soft filled side channels which has been really productive. Black wooly buggers, Olive Trevors, and Sheila streamers have all gotten looks lately. Egg patterns are still producing fish below riffles, in this post spawn time period. Eggs have worked better the further upstream you are right now.
The wildlife and birding on the river is pretty amazing right now. Ospreys, Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, Swans, Curlews, Red Winged Blackbirds, Cranes, Pelicans to name a few birds.
Hopefully soon, we'll finally kick this winter weather and really start warming up. This week we also saw a brief PMD hatch down low near Ennis Lake! That's exciting. The PMD hatch in the Channels is a pretty fun one to hit. There are some major hatches looming too, including the prolific Mother's Day Caddis! Call or email to get on the board for this year!