For me Memorial Day is booked for years in advance. Like clockwork every year on Memorial Day the annual Salmonfly hatch blows up on the Colorado. This year the water did not cooperate as it has in years past. A cool spring coupled with a well timed heat wave caused the river to swell literally overnight.

My Memorial Day fishing wasn’t memorable as it usually is but it did allow me to see those behemoths that have been dormant for years on the river bottom. Their flight patterns make you wonder if they suffer from the same brain malfunctions that NFL quarterbacks have after Ray Lewis has his way with them for the better part of a decade. Despite a lackluster fish count, Salmonflies are so prehistoric that it makes any day you have with them memorable.

If you haven’t seen one of these hatches let me tell you its worth every second. I would fly from across the country to be a part of it. While I’m fortunate enough to have both the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers in my backyard, Rock Creek in Montana and of course the Henry’s Fork in Idaho also have legendary hatches. Just bring some 3X and the biggest dries you have. Oh, and be on time.