Low, Clear, and BWO's

After a week of ice and sleet conditions here in the Ozarks, today was a great day to get out and clear the mind and enjoy the sun.  I ventured to an Ozark creek that I frequently visit but have not recently due to drought conditions and low water.  We have had some moisture recently to make conditions a little better, but it is still very low and super clear. 

The wild McCloud rainbows in this stream are spooky enough in normal conditions and I knew today would be very tough.  I actually enjoy this creek because it is so difficult.  It is definitely not a 'numbers' creek but I have never been a 'numbers' guy.

I knew these fish would either be in deeper holes or faster tailout water with these conditions.  I caught a couple in the first two hours and then noticed the bug activity began to pick up.  This little guy landed near me and I knew conditions were about to change.

At first I noticed a few BWO's in the air, but as I progressed up stream, they became more prevalent.  As I looked ahead to a very nice tailout with a decent flow, I noticed a few ripples.   I tied on a size 20 BWO  and approached the rising McClouds.  I actually could have gone with a bigger BWO but after digging through my flies, this was going to have to work.   There were at least 10 actively feeding fish or it seemed from the constant attack of the hatching BWO's.  I knew that I would need a long cast and a stealthy approach or these fish would go down immediately.  It did appear that most of the fish were on the smaller side but my second cast proved this wrong as this nice chunky fish rose and inhaled my dry fly.  Even with the poor conditions, this guy was in great shape!

I caught a few more rising trout but after casting to the same general area and catching 5-6 more, the feeding stopped as I had put the trout down.  I took a seat on the bank, ate lunch and enjoyed the sun on my back. 

After a few minutes the trout began to pick off the BWO's again.  The air was full of bugs immediately over the faster water where the hatch was the heaviest.  There were 2-3 trout rising at all times including a few in the 13-14 inch range.  I had caught one nice one so I watched for a while longer, slipped up the bank, and left the fish to finish their meal uninterrupted. 

The smallest trout of the day showed why these wild McClouds grow up to be so pretty.

On the way home, I snapped this photo of an Ozark country mailbox ready for St. Patricks Day. It is actually an old washing machine that has been converted into a mailbox.  I suppose it is handy as the mailman could leave bigger packages in the machine.  Anyway, I fish this area a lot and the mailbox has made a couple other blog posts over the years.  Since it is decorated for St. Patricks Day, are you wondering about other holidays?  Oh yeah, it has had many themes throughout the year.  I love this mailbox!  Only in the Ozarks!