Hendrickson Hatch

Each spring I am itching to hit the water in search of a large brown that will eat a dry fly.  Usually, it is the Quill Gordon hatch that will fool a brown into eating my imitation.  This season I had a day that produced a large trout but it was the Hendrickson hatch. 

                I had seen Hendricksons the day before while guiding and wanted to take an opportunity to hit a stretch of the Davidson with a dry.  I knew there was a large trout in the area and wanted to see if I could get him to eat the dry.  I made some test cast to get the leader right in a lower pool.   To my surprise, a rainbow hit the fly just at the end of the drift.  Well, the fly works. 

                I moved upstream through some shallow riffles.  I didn’t work the area knowing it was too early for trout to be in there.  I reached the pool I wanted to fish and sat down.  It did sit long and began to see rises right in the middle of the pool.  The rises probably were not big trout, they seemed too quick.  I saw a likely spot, two large rocks underwater about 10 feet apart.  This would be a good spot because both rocks lay in the same drift line.  I made a cast to run the fly down the closest current edge.  The Hendrickson fly drifted about 3 feet before a large trout rose and took the fly down.  The line was tight and the fight was on, and then it wasn’t.  I had stepped backward to maintain tension and run into something.  The distraction was enough for me to let the line go slack.  Just for an instant but long enough for the trout to throw the fly.  That was a nice trout. 

                I worked upstream slowly catching rainbows in the middle of the pool.  There was a run coming off the left bank.  It ran over some rocks and was dark.  An obvious drop-off and a good place for a large trout.  I cast the fly upstream of the deeper water and let it drift over…nothing.  I repeated the cast three more times, still nothing.  I decided to make another casting.  Usually, after 3 or 4 casts I will move on to cover more water.  I even had a nagging thought, “Don’t waste time, the hatch won’t last forever.  Find some more trout.”  That’s when the water exploded as a big brown rolled on the fly.  I attempted to keep him upstream but he wasn’t having any of it and churned down river.  I turned and ran downstream too. 

                At the end of the pool, he stopped and I was able to get more control.  He was a strong fish.  A determined fish.  In the end, it was a larger male brown.  I think I will remember this one.