Searching for Mr. Drake
When I learned that our eight days of fishing in late July in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia should coincide with the peak of the Western Green Drake hatch I anticipated our trip even more. The Western Green Drake is the largest mayfly in western Canada and, during a hatch when the duns are floating downstream trying to get airborne, the trout go a little wild. Kinda like when the popcorn shrimp is brought out at a Golden Corral buffet. I don't normally set goals for a fishing trip, but this time I had two: fish a Green Drake hatch, and catch fish on my nymphing rod. I'm relatively new to the contact nymphing technique and had yet to catch a fish on this rod using that technique. And I don't think I've ever fished a proper mayfly hatch, never mind the storied Green Drake. The trip started off with first day jitters. The night before, as I lay in bed, I thought I forgot to pack my spools of tippet. I mean, that's impossible as I have a packing list th...