Daughter's First Trout

I've been trying to figure out the right timing to fly fish for trout with the kids. I tried last year and it went great until about 20min in my son fell in the river. He wasn't swept away by the current but he did go in face first and got soaked. This time instead of taking both I decided to try just going with my daughter. The weather seemed to cooperate and I knew a stream had just been stocked. My mother was able to come along and things were adding up to make a great fishing trip. We got to the river and only one other car was in the parking lot. I rigged up our gear as fast as I could and my mother talked to a gentleman who was recently fishing. He said he didn't think it was stocked at all. My heart kind of sank when I heard that but I was skeptical and decided to check for myself. I looked in a location I knew always had fish and sure enough there were 4 or 5 just hanging in the calm water.

 Fish were here and I knew a run where they stack up after stocking. I put my daughter in position and watched her cast upstream. I tried to explain how to watch the drift and keep an eye on the indicator. On her third cast the indicator dipped. She lifted the rod late and felt the tug of a fish and instantly had that smile you get when you hook a fish. "I felt it fighting!" she said. The next several casts she had several strikes and her timing was just a bit off from setting the hook. I figured this is how it would go most of the day then all of sudden she shrieked "I GOT ONE, I GOT ONE" and I saw a shimmer in the water. Before I could say anything she hauled the fish out of the water and brought it over to the bank. I ran over and put the fish in the net and I told my daughter "try not to slam the fish on the bank but that was awesome!"

I was still amazed at how fast she caught a fish. I knew she'd probably catch one but not in the first 10min of fishing.

We were both a little giddy. I thought it was beginner's luck but a few casts later she had another fish. Then while I was helping my mother untangle her line I heard behind me "I got another one!" 

She caught another fish shortly after and then asked if she could take a break.

I explained that fishing isn't always like this and some days you don't catch anything. She knew that and wanted to take a break to check out the flowers and do some other projects. She proceeded to start building something using the river rocks. I thought about talking to her about how those are a home for other animals and some of the consequences of doing that but just left her to her fun. 

I love that she enjoyed just being outside and it wasn't about how many fish she caught. She learned this a lot faster than I did. It was an amazing day for everyone and the best part is that I could share it with family.

We all caught fish and the weather couldn't have cooperated better. I can only hope the future trips we have will be half as successful.

Fly Fishing Tournament

If you could count the number of times you fished on one hand in the last year would you enter a fly fishing tournament? Well that's what I just did. Might not have been the best decision but I'm hoping it will give me some motivation to dust off the rods and wet a fly line. Heck, maybe I'll even tie a few flies while I'm at it. The money goes towards a good cause and I like the shop Due South Outfitters that's hosting the tournament. The river where the tournament is being held is one of my all time favorites. It was one of the places I fished most often when I lived in Boone and it will always have a fondness in my heart.

It will be my first tournament experience. I'm looking forward to see how everything goes down and how it's organized. I'm also eager to see how other fishermen attack the water and their results.

I'm sure a lot of fun will be had. What's the worst that can happen? I could have a good day of getting skunked on one of my favorite rivers. Doesn't sound so bad.

Personal Best Brown

The weather was overcast and the water was higher than normal with a little stain. I had just gotten in and after my 10th cast with a streamer I hooked this guy. It used the current and put up a great fight. I was using a 3/4wt 10ft rod and it gave it all it could handle. Landing the fish was a total cluster you know what. When I went to net the fish it wouldn't fit in the net. I decided to ditch the rod and try to grab the trout. That's when a hilarious scenario ensued. I had to have a friend help me net it. I had already gone through many bouts of having the fish in my hands to only have it slip free. This is the largest trout I have caught. 

Upping My Trout Game

Here's a video from the trip last weekend. 

Educated Trout

I got out Saturday and tried my luck with some educated trout. The fish don't hit the usual flies like egg patterns, San Juan worms and big bead head flies. It's times like these when the best fly is usually something out of the norm. A fly that you wouldn't normally throw for trout. I went with a copper and green kreelex fly. I was getting many misses that I could tell were reaction strikes. Eventually I caught a few.

I'm really enjoying this Anglers Roost and Piscifun Reel setup. The rod handles well whether I'm nymphing or throwing streamers. A good 14" fish will give you quite a tussle on the 3/4wt. There were a few fish that stripped line several times and I didn't have the upper hand where I could move them wherever I wanted. It makes catching the larger fish much more fun and challenging.

Is it Winter?

This has been the warmest winter in memory. Christmas Eve I was fishing in my shorts for gills using poppers.

Over the weekend it was so warm I was able to wet wade a brookie stream. It felt strange to not have to break out my waders in late December.

The water was high but the fish were very active. 

I can't recall ever seeing rainbows with such pretty red stripes on them. All of the bows over 6inches had this. The coloring was beautiful and the picture doesn't do the color justice. The high water made the fish move to calmer pools. One pool in particular had a brookie hanging out in about 4inches of water. This wild brookie was the largest I had seen in quite some time. I thought maybe something was wrong with the fish because of how out in the open it was. I cast my nymph behind and to the right. I went to pull the flies up to make another cast and the fish turned and chased the flies almost hitting them as they came out of the water. I thought maybe I missed my chance, I cast near the fish again. I didn't see the take but I knew where my flies were and saw the fish make a slash. I set the hook and my line instantly wrapped around a downed limb. I was using 6x and tried to free the line without snapping it. I was able to untangle the line by taking the limb out of the water. 

The fish wasn't that colorful but it was really good size for this stream. These fish must be really confused usually the sides of this stream are lined with ice around now. 

I'm Changing

My philosophy towards trout fishing is starting to change. Gone are the notions that trout are fragile almost timid creatures that shy away at the nearest vibration from the bank. These thoughts have been replaced by predators with the capacity to overcome prey with fierce speed and ferocious annihilation. There's two types of trout. Those that stay in the main water column and eat what they can. The others hide in the darkness and out of reach places. They eat what they want when they want. Usually they've been caught once or twice and their years of wisdom have made them leery about anything out of the ordinary. It's these fish that I've started to target and my enjoyment of fly fishing has increased tenfold. The small size 20flies and 7x tippet no longer exist in my fly box. 3x is the standard and as an added bonus you rarely lose flies. Big fish indeed want big flies and it usually takes something larger than 3inches to entice them. Even when you do the most you can expect is a follow. I have finally learned the difference between a curious follow and a chase. Then there is the ambush which is an unexpected flash that usually ends as quickly as it starts. Since I've started fishing this way I have seen more big trout this year than in all 10yrs of fly fishing combined. The method works and the fish aren't any easier to catch. The technique allows you to get a glimpse of the fish but doesn't guarantee anything. The game becomes about a well placed cast, proper retrieve and fast reflexes. The fish wins 99% of the time and the challenge just makes it more fun. For me just the sight of a 20inch fish trailing my fly is exciting enough. The visual part is what I love and I'm addicted to seeing more.

Good Friday

Friday's like this are always good.

There's a secret spot I always fish every time I'm in Boone.  There isn't a lot of fish and you have to work for everything you catch.   The fish that are there are wild and a 10inch fish fights harder than an 18inch stocker.  I have yet to catch a fish that didn't jump the instant it was hooked.   It's a place I appreciate and hold dear.

Cold Morning, Hot Fishing

This was only my mothers second time attempting to trout fish.  I mentioned it would be cold in the morning.  Even I was a little surprised when the temp read 25 as I stepped out to get my gear on.  It's a funny feeling when it is that cold.  You try to move fast to warm up but the cold hampers your movement and you have to stop every so often to blow in your hands.   We still managed to get our gear on and head down to the river.   The morning was beautiful and there's something about seeing sunlight shine through mist and your breath.  I went to my usual hole and it didn't take long to get my first trout of the day.

I rarely catch a fish with in my first few casts. I enjoyed the moment and didn't try to put a lot of emphasis on the event like it was foreshadowing the day. As the sun and temperature rose so did the fishing. Whenever I go fishing with a group there is always one lucky person who just seems to have everything going for them that day. Today that lucky person was me. Most of my hook ups the fish stayed on and I was able to land them. I had to pay close attention to my indicator and I started to recognize how these fish hit. Most of the fish were rainbows but in one section there seemed to be a cluster of drab brookies.

The water was clearer than the last time and a lot colder. One part of the day some small size 20 bugs started hatching. Fish never started hitting the surface but the fishing did seem to pick up.

The hot fly was a small size 18 bead head pheasant tail. My mother struggled at first. She had the problem normal beginners have. Wind knots and tangling the leader over the rod. She persevered and was able to get the skunk off.

It was a great day. One of those ones where you're not quite sure how many fish you caught but you know it was a lot. The day had blue bird skies and there was still some color on the trees to keep things scenic.