These days, afternoons have been great on the Eagle River through at the bottom of Beaver Creek. Richard, Conner, and I had a grand ol' time with a family of six in town, celebrating a wedding dress choice and family visit! The only exception was the dogs, who had to come along. It was not hard to say no, and we had just the places to fish them. The dogs were wonderful, and so was the fishing (and, of course, the fishermen)!
Caddis in the afternoon and ideal water temps in the high 50s had the fish active and feeding at our feet. Caddis were the main menu item this afternoon, and the Eagle River brown trout were eager to chase down a swung fly and eat on a dead drift in the faster flows. The excellent clarity also had a few fish seeking out smaller baetis patterns, which implies our tiny friend the trico is around the corner.
Our local rainbow trout were also on the feed, and Conner had his guests into them quite well in some of the longer, deeper pools. Richard's guests, meanwhile, were out for the big ones and hooked into some truly great trout on small flies. This led to some great memories for the whole family, who really enjoyed their time on the river as a group. Except for being Yankees fans, these guys were some of my favorites this season (Go Orioles!). Selfishly I want to have all the afternoon water to myself but if you find yourself with a few hours to kill around 6 pm and are looking to put a bend in your fly rod, I would definitely recommend getting out on the Eagle River and wet wading your way to glory!
