Hendrickson Time

I woke up to 8cm of fresh wet snow today so I didn’t go to the river as planned. Let me tell you.

Yesterday, on the lower Grand River, I hiked into a favourite place to pick fiddleheads but they’d been nipped by the unseasonably cold the night before. It was -5C last night, and keep in mind it’s the second week of May and average temperatures should be mid teens!

Of course, I took a fly rod with me, my switch rod and just a few giant streamers to throw into some deep pools there. It’s a 500m hike in and who goes to the river without a rod?

When I stepped into the river, I was amazed to see a full on Hendrickson Hatch occurring! But the temperature of +9 was preventing them from flying and so they struggled on the surface where they could have been attacked by hungry trout.

Today, after the 8cm of snow melts, I’m going to head back to The Grand River with a box full of freshly tied Hendrickson nymphs and emergers and see what happens.

“Be prepared!” my Boy Scout Leader, Dad and Fly Fishing mentor always reminded me!

UPDATE! Today I did go back to the river, upstream of Fergus, after most of the 8 cm of snow had melted! There were BWOs and midges covering the water, and again, they were unable to fly as the temperature was barely above freezing and there were snow flurries still in the air. The fish were taking them and even my #18 Baetis nymph. Success. But I lasted only an hour in the cold!