Durring a recent break between spring snow storms I made my first trip of the season to one of my favorite small streams in Central Alberta. With the weather warming, but still somewhat unsettled, I was hoping for a BWO hatch and possibly some rising fish, so I decided to fish the Midge for the first time. Unfortunately the insect activity was minimal, and risers were non-existant, so it was on to plan B – streamers. Aside from dry fly fishing, streamers are my absolute favorite way to fish these waters for three simple reasons; they cover a lot of water quickly, they will often move the largest fish in any given spot and they can get down deep where there simply isn’t enough time to get a proper drift with a nymph. There is a trade off with this approach, however. Couple the size and weight of a streamer with the swirling east slope winds and you begin to truely appreciate the term “chuck and duck”. A few hours and a handful of fish later I was standing at the bottom of a long sweeping corner pool and about fifty feet away, across a shallow flat and against the far bank, was a tangle of fallen logs and a narrow, deep slot. This was the kind of spot that I usually catch out of the corner of my eye when I’m headed for greener pastures, and before I can reason out why I did it, I’ll be stopped and stripping line off of the reel. For the first time all day I began wishing for the breeze to pick up, just enough to ruffle the surface and blur my profile a little. The wind wasn’t going to co-operate, so I began working line out anyway, picked my spot and let the cast go. Not only did the Midge bridge the distance, it put a size 4 cone head Kiwi Muddler within 6″ of the lumber. It was a big performance for a small rod, and it was one I had no right to expect. What makes it the Mighty Midge is the fact that I had to make that same cast three times with slight adjustments before the stike finally came.
- Dan Hunt.
Great narrative, Dan! You have the ability to put us “there”. Good stuff !
j