Things Started Clicking

The family headed to the mountains again for the holiday weekend. I wasn't sure how much fishing I'd actually get in. On Sat we went to Todd and checked out The River Girl Fishing Company. It's mainly a canoe and tube rental place but the owner Kelly, does fly casting and fishing trips on the side. I talked to her every now and then on facebook. The shop was having a celebration for Kelly's son and there was bbq, facepainting and other stuff going on. Kelly has a huge pot belly pig that roams around the shop. The pig liked laying in the shade of the bbq tent. It made for a good picture.

From Summer2011

This pig is huge and a little intimidating at over 200lbs. When you pet it you realize quickly the animal is a gentle giant. My daughter wanted to pet it so bad but she was discouraged after Petunia gave a few grunts.

From Summer2011

I had planned on getting a few flies and after exploring I noticed a rack of fly rods. At first I thought they were for sale but then I noticed they were strung up. One was exactly what I was looking for. A short length seven foot 3wt. It was a St Croix Avid. I've never fished a St Croix rod but the reviews I've heard have been positive. I asked Kelly if she'd be willing to sell me that rod. After some deliberation and negotiating. She gave me a great deal and I couldn't wait to fish it. It was going to have to wait, my family was on the way to Galax for a 4th of July slash family get together.

The next day I woke up early. I'm not sure if I was excited to fish or if I just couldn't sleep. I just kind of sat there not knowing what to do with myself. Since I felt so awake I decided to get ready and head out the door. There was a wild creek I wanted to revisit. I couldn't remember exactly where it was. I drove all over this mountain for about 40min with out ever wetting my line. I ended up settling on a hatchery supported stretch. The water was really low but there were fish where you'd expect them. I was excited to see how the Avid cast. After a couple casts I was impressed. The rod could cast small flies softly but it also had the power to throw larger flies. It was perfect for the small tight creek I was fishing. With the water conditions I had to hide behind rocks and almost crawl from pool to pool. I hate this type of fishing, I don't have the patience for it. I also brought too much stuff on the stream with me. I started leaving various things along the creek almost like bread crumbs. I had a few chances at fish but never hooked anything. I decided this wasn't for me and went to check out a new stream. On the way out I went to put my rod down and hooked my finger. I sometimes carry my rod above the fly holder. I was using a dropper set up so I had a fly in the fly holder plus another one about 6-8 inches above it. When I went to set the rod down I kind of let it slide threw my hand and the second fly stuck. Of course right as someone was driving by and stopped. I dropped down and instantly started to try to work the fly out of my finger. It had to look suspicious to the other car with me all of a sudden dropping behind the car as soon as they pulled up. I had a little higher priorities than worrying about assumptions at the moment. I kept playing with the fly and it looked pretty deep. Then all the ways to remove flies started shooting through my head, none of them painless. I kept playing with the fly and eventually it came free. As I stood up the car started to pull away. This wasn't a great way to break in the new 3wt.

There were a ton of fishing options and I was battling which water I wanted to fish. There was a place that I call the gut spot. I've never had an epic day there but I feel there has to be fish there. The water is very scenic and fishy looking. When I got there my finger was still stinging from the hooking earlier. I decided to slow things down and take my time. I did something I've never done since my first days of fly fishing. I picked up rocks and tried to see what nymphs were in the water. Usually I just start fishing with a certain pattern I know works. Today I was switching it up. The first few rocks looked bare giving me a grim feeling. The third rock was full of bugs. I saw a large swimming nymph. I'm not sure what it was then a free swimming caddis rock worm and some other small nymphs. I had caddis larvae nymphs but nothing that matched this larger one. The large nymph was black so I tried a stone fly nymph. The first section was fast and I could see fish in the main run. I cast up stream and watched intently as the line moved across the pool. I could see fish swirling and flashing every where. I set the hook several times but there was no connection. It took me a few minutes but I realized the bigger fish were Red Horse sucker fish. They are fun to catch but extremely difficult to hook. I worked the pool some more hoping for a trout and had a small fish slam my line. The fish had the look of a common creek chub but changed as it came closer.

From Summer2011

A Smallie! I heard they were in this river but I had never caught one. Even though the fish was small I was tickled that my fly selection had worked and that I caught a small mouth. I worked more runs downstream. I noticed fish wanted the flies swinging and worked upstream a little. I started to catch little smallies rather consistently. I cast near a small rock and had an interesting hook up.

From Summer2011

I rarely catch doubles and a Small Mouth, Rock Bass double is pure awesome. I love the coloring on the small mouth. The fishing was really good and the 3wt was the perfect rod for this situation. The morning went on with me catching fish consistently. With a few sunfish and warpaint shiners thrown in.

From Summer2011

I wanted to stay there all day but I couldn't.

I was hoping I could fish in the afternoon. Clouds lingered in the distance and a nice thunderstorm came through. I was thinking maybe the streams had been blown out. The rain came down pretty hard and was accompanied by plenty of lightning and thunder. The evening wore on and it was hard sell to my wife but I was able to get out on the water again. I only had maybe an hour and a half of fishing daylight. I went to the same section that gave me so much luck in the morning. This time I worked upstream.

From Summer2011

Because I knew there were small mouth in the river. I went with my go to small mouth fly. A sneaky pete. I worked the banks and wasn't disappointed. On almost every cast I had a splash or a fish.

From Summer2011

It was a mix of rock bass and small mouth. The evening was surreal. Dissipating storm clouds in the distance, red shouldered black birds skimming bugs off the water and fish slamming my fly. I waded back before it got so dark that I couldn't see where I was walking. There was one more section I wanted to try. I fished it the last time I was here and saw a bass but didn't catch a thing. I wasn't totally sure if I should fish or just go home. A splash from a jumping fish made my mind up for me. I cast towards the splash and let my fly just dead drift in the current. There wasn't any action for a few casts. I was casting from the bank with heavy trees lining the bank behind me. There was a small gap in the trees and that's where I was trying to get my line on my back cast. I was able to work it out so I could get maybe a 90ft cast. When the fly hit the water a shadow rose. I couldn't make it out but as quickly as it rose my fly disappeared. I'd like to say it was my fishing skill that hooked the fish. With the dying light I could barely make out the take. The fish really hooked itself. When I pulled back on the line I knew it was a smallie and a good one. Probably the biggest I had ever caught. I had heard how these fish fight but it didn't seem to live up to the hype. That was at least until it got near shore. Then it bolted and if I didn't have so much stripped line on the ground it would have pulled my drag easily. I was happy I pulled out the 5wt. The fish came to hand and I couldn't have been more happy.

From Summer2011

The fish wasn't a monster but it was a giant compared to what I had been catching earlier. It was a perfect way to end the day.