As Day Fades and Night Comes On

I head back to Yellowwood on a warm evening. My sights are set on the dam. I've tied up a light stimulator just for the hatch that will come as day fades and night comes on.

Nature has laid out a feast for the butterflies. I feast my eyes on this extraordinary display.

I fish around the spillway. Nothing doing.

Waiting for dark.

It's relaxing to simply mess about in a tube.

Something here doesn't belong.

A big plastic bait hung up in the multiflora roses. I scratch up my arms but I retrieve it. It might come in handy sometime.

I fish up and down the dam. Nothing happening yet.

The woods at the other end are full of sound: squirrels working in the hickories.

Finally the shadows creep across the water.

A big bluegill starts things off. It's like the opening burst in a fireworks display. Get ready.

Then the first bass pops up.

It's deep dusk now and the mayflies can just be made out as they skitter across the still water.

I've seen lots of mayflies online lumped under the common name "White Mayfly." These may be the Ephoron leukon. If so, they will complete their life cycle before the sun comes up again.

Many, however, will not complete their life cycles at all. The bass will see to that.

The little bass are slicing and dicing along the weeds. The stimulator works splendidly. I lose track of the number of cartwheeling jumps these turned on fish make.

A screech owl wails in the deep woods as if to say, it's time to go. I head in trailing the fly behind me. Just before I get to the ramp I get one last pull and miss. As if to say, we'll be here when you get back.