We were lucky enough to have a few gentlemen in town with the sole intention of fly fishing the Vail Valley during the off-season, enjoying the down time and getting away from home for a few days. They picked a good time to be in town as the Eagle River was experiencing some really strong bug activity and the trout were eager to take advantage. Our mid-day trip consisted of a menu of early Mother's Day caddis, little brown stoneflies, big midges and heavy beatis. The river was mostly wadeable so we took advantage and made our ways out to the big rock pockets scattered around Avon. The local brown and rainbow trout were eager to eat most things we offered but seemed to really fancy almost any BWO patterns we through their way. Though it wasn't the easiest to land the trout, we managed plenty in the bag with the help of our wading staffs (great for this time of year) and a great job fighting fish in heavier currents. Big fish were landed by sweeping them into the soft water and keeping them there until I could net them. Fish were eating on the swing as well as the dead drift and most were eating right on the seam - where the fast water meets the slow water. Our weekday bachelors earned their beers and most importantly, stayed dry. We look forward to taking these guys out again this Summer on the Eagle River, the next time they pass through town!