The Mayfly Adult After drying their wings the mayflies fly to a nearby shrub, tree or bush. Not being very good fliers, their two or three tails, are thought to aid in stabilizing them, though to our eyes they appear like a lot for them to maneuver and carry. Here the duns molt into a second adult phase called spinners. Their second pair of wings now fully developed, they are also sexually mature. After a few hours or up to a day, they usually , though not always, return to over the water, where they mate. The males will swarm, and the females fly into the swarm and choose their mate. After mating the females lay their eggs, and both male and female die. Trout also key on this stage as the ‘spent wing' spinners give the mayfly one last chance to ‘offer' itself to the awaiting trout. From our point of view it is hard to deny that the mayfly's life is nothing but a gift to the wild trout. And the recognition of this fact centuries ago was a gift of one careful observer to the generations of fly fisher's that have followed.

Trout Fishing Ahh, yes. Trico time, the time of year accomplished fly fisherman throw down their rods in disgust. Take up the golf clubs, repaint the house, design the ninth wonder of the world. Anything but test their patience and skill against the dreaded Tricos and the super selective trout that feed on them. Called the ‘White Winged Devils' in the gentlest of circles, these tiny micro hatches can infuriate the most skilled of the fly fishing angler. Huge lunker trout hunker down in feeding lanes slurping up every Trico spinner except the pattern you are offering to them. And after several hundred tedious passes, after you have lightened your tippet, after you have changed your position after you have done everything but jump in the water and grab the fish with your bare hands, you give up in disgust, and wait for something larger and more tangible to come off the water. A nice Salmonfly hatch would be the ticket. But, alas there are ways to improve your catch rate during these prolific hatches.

Fishing Through the Cracks Lil' Brother and I never did make a lot of money, but enough to keep us just short of even on our account at Mr. K.C.'s store. Our daily provisions consisted of two cokes, a moon pie, a Miss. Dailey's fresh made sandwich, and all the crickets we needed to catch our supper. By 7:00 p.m., every evening we would have our 3 bream apiece. We would gut 'em, stick 'em, and cook 'em over a little fire we would make on the bank near our tent. Lil' Brother and I had spent the last two summers camping on the banks of the Bend. We fancied ourselves as a modern day Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. We were accountable to no one and responsible for only our daily bread. Don't get me wrong, we were not bad kids nor did we come from a broken home. We had loving parents, grandparents, and friends. We were just lucky enough to grow up in a part of the world and in a time that allowed us to live free, truly free.

The Sporting Life
September 27, 2006 This is what I live for in the fall The gloom of a nighttime fog hovering around the dock lights couldn't hide the frenzy in the water.
Comm.

The Kelvin alas….
The Kelvin, alas, is still out of action after all that rain. So last Sunday was a bit of a non starter when it came to trout rising and flies hatching. I mean the water had settled from the day before- a little lower and clearer but there was very lit.

Minister under investigation over fisheries vessel contract
AN EXECUTIVE minister is being investigated by Scotland's spending watchdog over a controversial decision on the building of a fisheries protection vessel..