It's been a very wet summer so far, and the Red Deer has been muddy except for a few days at the early part of July. Seems to be clearing a bit though, so I do a little exploratory walk down to the canoe launch to make a few casts. The rubber hatch has been heavy lately, as evidenced by the beer cans and abandoned inflatables in the bankside willows. No insect hatch, though, and wading is tough at 130 cms on this river; this flow rate is way above average for this time of year.