April Fools Day Creek

[NorcalBob]

Chris and I just returned from two days floating April Fools Day Creek. We were in search of the famed "Mothers Day Caddis" hatch (brachycentrus) that this creek is famous for, but unfortunately the weather threw us a nasty curveball. The previous week had warm days with only a bit of wind and the brachys were coming off thick. So we went! Of course, on Sunday a cold blustery storm from Alaska blew in, and the caddis decided to take a vacation. We woke up Monday morning to cold air temps and a brisk wind from the north about 20 MPH, making fishing difficult. The poor conditions didn't deter Chris one bit, as he hooked the biggest fish of the trip (~22") on his first drift of the cold morning! Meanwhile, the old phart was having a tough morning of it, having landed only two fish before our lunch break. Fortunately, the wind died down after lunch and the air temps finally started increasing so I could finally remove my jacket by 2 PM! A nice PMD hatch was starting to come off, and I switched flies to a #14 BH Flashback Pheasant Tail and then the old phart fired up on all cylinders. The old phart managed to put seven fish in a row into the net! Fishing definitely improved with the warmer temps in the afternoon. The final body count for the day was about 25 fish each, with Chris taking big fish honors with the 22". The next day the weather dawned much nicer with air temps about 10 degrees warmer and only slight wind. Fishing was much more consistent, and we were into a nice grab pretty evenly throughout the whole day. Although we each boated about the same number of fish as the previous day, this days grab was pretty evenly spaced (unlike the day before when the afternoon was killer). Chris and I shared big fish honors with several fish around 19". On both days, the caddis hatch never materialized and we saw only a few rising fish each day and never got the opportunity to fish any dries. Everything was indicator nymphing (which is the norm on the creek) with our 9'6" 6 WT rods. Hot flies included a #6 brown flexi-floss stone, and #14 BH Flashback PT. Very few fish were taken on caddis patterns, which is unusual for this creek since caddis are the prevalent bug. Notice how "brown" the water is in some pics-it was quite interesting that the upper float below the dam had poorer water clarity than it did further downriver! And if you can't guess the location of April Fools Day Creek, well today is indeed April Fools Day!

[RichardCullip]

Nice! I've only floated that stretch once but I remember very fondly both the hard-pulling fish and the scenery. Thanks for sharing you trip with us. I need to get back up there and float it again.

[Sheriff Joe]

Awesome report, from both the old phart and his young son! Looks like you guys got a blast!

[Autodave]

WOW!Great report,nice fish.

[flybob]

AWESOME stuff Bob!

Hey, I hope Chris did not break any rods on this trip!

[Papasequoia]

Nice report, Bob, great pics. That's what this icon was made for:

That's not really a group hug, it means you should bring us all along next time. Jon

[1mocast]

Bob & Chris,
Looks like a great float down the creek...And I do see paddles! Thanks for sharing that.

[midger]

Nice outing. I love how the lower Missouri fishes. Sorry about the lack of caddis.

[briansII]

Nice, chunky fish. You have some mighty big creeks up there!!

briansII

[Sasha]

Great report



That "creek" looks a bit big though

[Rockstar Fisherman]

Awesome fish!! I sure wish I would've been up fishing with you that day, would've been a great birthday By the way those fish look I can imagine they probably put up one heck of a fight!!

[Benny]

Some really healthy looking fish coming out of that there creek.
Thanks for sharing