The salmon fly hatch has pretty pretty pretty good this year. It's no secret. Some of us hadn't had the chance to fish the hatch on the Colorado this year...and with reports from Trouts Frisco guide Josh Diller of those gigantic orange stones on the upper reaches of the Colorado, friends of the shop Chuck Nazty AKA Big Rig (check the headwear) and Mike Wurster ignored a rising hydrograph and tried to find a couple willing big bug eaters around Byers Canyon.

It wasn't long after we rigged up that we realized the Canyon wasn't going to work. High flows, dirty water, limited fishable water and most importantly no damn salmon flies had us thinking about plan B 15 minutes in. We headed downstream and WAMMY...

We saw stonefly shucks AND WAMMY...

We saw more shucks. AND WAMMY...

We saw actual salmon flies. AND WAMMY...

They looked just like Big Rig's Chubby Chernobyl. AND WAMMY...

Hell, they looked like a lot of those summer bugs Big Rig just picked up. AND WAMMY...

This pesky little Colorado brown trout ate the Salmon Fly Egg Layer Dry. AND WAMMY...that was the last salmon fly dry eater we had all damn day. There were a lot of salmon flies, caddis, and PMDs...but damn it if we could buy a rise. I stayed with a big piece of foam junk for way too long working what I thought was the perfect bank until early afternoon. Nothing. Not a single taker.

Mike Wurster works the inside seam with a double nymph rig.

Charlie was throwing a dry-dropper rig. After hooking bottom a couple of times, Chuck proclaimed "Droppers suck...I never catch fish on droppers."

Mike was tossing his Winston.

SIDE NOTE: I tried to get in position to take a quick snap of Mike...but he was suddenly distracted.

Because looky there, Chuck popped one on a dropper.

Charlie Blackmon - converted dropper guy.

Check out that Kentucky Chrome on Charlie's waders.

Bye now...

I said "Good Day."

Mike trying to figure out the right formula.

Me, I was sticking with streamers.

Chuck was airing out with a salmon fly and/or a CLIF bar in the BEARD.

Meanwhile, Wurster was throwing lasers.

After moving a couple of streamers, 2 PM hit and we decided to make a move downstream.

It's been a while since everything's been green.

Chuck gave up on the hopper-dropper rig and showed off all the storage he has in his trusty fishpond vest.

Pat's Rubberlegs made the cut.

And Chuck started to rake...

From the top belt...

Bye now...

Bye now...

Oh, hey there trout.

And goodbye..

Chuck trying to find a willing eater of two.

We hopped back in the trucks and returned our plan B. I promptly missed six salmon fly dry eats...each one worse than the next and Charlie casted nice in the good light.

No bueno.

Bye now.