A Few Hendrickson Patterns

These guys represented the bulk of my day today, lately I have had a hard time focusing so what should take me an hour has been taking me forever. These flies however, represent my favourite Hendrickson flies and includes the gamut. From top moving clockwise we have CDC snowshoe emergers, light Hendrickson parachutes, rusty biot spinners, CDC cripples, and dark Hendrickson parachutes.

I'm Hoping ambitiously that I will need these on the Delaware this weekend but I am not too optimistic. I've planned a long awaited trip to float the W. branch of the Delaware with my very great friend Rob Lewis who I haven't seen in years. The Hendrickson hatch this time reminds me kinda like being a young boy trying to catch Santa, I know it can happen but its probably not going to. I hope the weather is better at a minimum. At least that will make chucking streamers more comfortable.

So far this 2013 trout season still in its youth has been good to me. I have had mixed success with two skunkings in about 8 trips which for a trout hoarder like me is unacceptable. With that said I'm beginning to appreciate difficult conditions a lot more these days. As a guide I have always tried to associate my fishing trips with high catch rates but I have had the rivers to myself except for one day and I landed one of the biggest trout of my career to go along with several other nice fish. There is something to be said about winter fishing, that is, fishing before the stocking trucks come. Its quiet, and understandably slow, but that makes you fish harder and pay attention more to what you're doing. Bright skies and warm days are awesome but I am really starting to love the early season a lot more than any other time of year. How about you?