What's Happening - Opening week on The Ranch

This is the first installment of What's Happening...on the river. Look for updates about the Railroad Ranch and the Caldera Project throughout the season. With a break in the winter-like weather on Saturday, just a day before the opener, the season seems to be off to a slow start. While anglers aren't seeming to agree on too much with respect to the survey - it's too soon to start drawing out patterns, let alone conclusions from the sort of experience folks are having on the water - a nearly unanimous sentiment exists that it just seems "early." We've had reports of PMDs, March Browns, caddis and yellow sallies among other insects, but no prolific hatches as of yet.

Since Sunday the weather has held warm, sunny and breezy in the afternoons, while most of the crowd has cleared out from Harriman State Park. The fishing does seem to be improving, if slowly, and we're hoping to see more bugs and rising fish in the next couple weeks. Stay tuned here for weekly updates on the project, photos, interviews and other reports from the river as the season progresses. Make sure to talk with me or one of the interns doing the angler survey if you're out on the river.