The Friendly Eddy
Marco and Lucas patiently watch The Friendly Eddy.
To reach the Friendly Eddy, we walk upstream, then duck into a hall in the bushes. The hall then brings us to a small, open landing along the river that’s comfortably large enough for three people. Only one person fishes at a time in the Friendly Eddy but there are a couple different stations from which they can make a clean backcast. It’s possible and helpful to have a spotter, standing slightly above the caster to help call the shots and add peanut gallery commentary.
Why is this little eddy so friendly? The Friendly Eddy collects recently-hatched bugs, concentrates them in its swirling currents, and recirculates them repeatedly, in turn collecting and concentrating trout. The Friendly Eddy’s currents are a very pleasing speed, holding numerous trout, and also allowing for clean, slow drifts of a dry fly. Where the Friendly Eddy meets the shore, overhanging branches create some incredible holding lies; a well-placed cast, with help from the Friendly Eddy, results in a drift that floats under some of these branches to unsuspecting trout.
While fishing the Friendly Eddy appears challenging due to its small casting area and surrounding bushes, in practice, from the right place, it’s actually fairly comfortable and relatively straightforward to make a good, accurate cast. The casting stations are on the upstream side of the Friendly Eddy. The angler looks downstream, but as the currents are flowing upstream, it’s akin to a standard upstream presentation. The Friendly Eddy doesn’t require especially long casts; rather, calm and confident casts that place a dry fly accurately and delicately with some slack line to aid and encourage the start of the drift.
The trout that feed in the Friendly Eddy do so at paces that match the various currents that swirl there. On the inside, close and under the overhanging branches, beautifully slow rises happen with mouths, dorsals, and tails breaking the surface in succession. Conversely, where the Friendly Eddy meets the fast, main river, splashy, aggressive rises surprise casters.
The Friendly Eddy is always open for business but it doesn’t always have something to sell. The fish feed when the bugs hatch and the bugs hatch when a certain air and/or water temperature is reached. This latter detail is more difficult for me to understand, especially considering the extremely minimal fluctuations of the river due to its spring-fed sources. What I did learn is that around 1:30 pm, the Friendly Eddy gets really friendly, and it might be the best place on the river to be.
The Friendly Eddy, on the far side, between hatches.
