Skwala Hatch is progressing!

 A couple of our regulars, Matt and Natasha, came out yesterday to celebrate her birthday week, and we enjoyed a great afternoon on the water.  We fished a double nymph rig with a Skwala fly on top, and a variety of size 14-18 nymphs underneath.  We found the fish still concentrated in the slower, deeper slicks, thus spent more time in those areas and less time fishing the heads of riffles.  While we didn't anticipate fishing dry flies being a productive option, we had seen a handful of Skwala adults on the water throughout the afternoon and were looking for the right opportunity.  At one point, we pulled over to land a great fish for Natasha, which she expertly maneuvered into the net, tilted for a photo, and gently released back into the current.  That fish made her day, so she sat back to enjoy the scenery for a bit and give Matt some fresh water from the back of the boat.  As we came around a corner above the takeout, we saw a fish rise along the bank about 50 yards downstream.  We immediately anchored up, and changed to a Bob's Para Skwala, which is one of my favorite early season flies, and moved into position.  The fish needed to see about 3 drifts, but Matt stayed on him, and we landed the first dry fly fish I've seen in 2015.  From that same spot, we actually rose 2 other fish further downstream as well that I would describe as "splashy refusals".  They are starting to look up, but it's still on the cusp.  If you see one rise, that's a big advantage in your favor!  There's no need to be on the water real early.  Fishing nymphs or streamers in the slower flats is the best bet until mid afternoon, and then you can go prospecting with dries.  There's something special about watching a big dry fly floating along the bank from the bow of a drift boat!