Posted: 7/27/2011 8:50:08 PM EDT
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I don't think I have fished since November. Tragic. But work was slow today, and my last appointment rescheduled, and I didn't have to be home till 7pm...so I grabbed the gear and went close. Real close. Right in town.
There were several other fishermen about. I watched for a while. No one was catching anything. But part of my desire to fish was the desire to test my NEW wading boots with FELT AND STUDS! So I waded in. Saw some small fish rising upstream of the other fishermen. So I went on the attack. Tried a blue winged olive, and was rewarded with a 10 incher on my 4th cast. Outstanding! THat was it for that hole. Nothing else looking up. Saw some other fish rising further upstream. Went up, but found a young couple smooching on the banks. Hazards of fishing in town. Decided to leave them their privacy. So I headed downstream to fish streamers in a deeper hole, using a sink-tip line. I like a Stayner Ducktail as a general purpose streamer. Imitates a minnow. Will catch things when nothing else will. Has saved a few trips. As I moved downstream to get into position, I spooked a 2 foot sucker. Then another one. Interesting. Got to the hole, and tossed the sink-tip in. I like to throw upstream, into the current, and let the sink-tip line roll downstream, and find the seam where fast water meets slow water. Let it drift for a minute, swinging in the current, then slowly strip back in. Third cast, and as I started to strip back in, I snagged a rock. But then, the rock shook its head and took off downstream. My old reel has a loud drag, and it screamed. I thought maybe I had hooked one of those suckers. The fish wanted to stay on the bottom. After some persuasion, I got it up off the bottom. And then it jumped. Fat brown! After much give and take, I got it close. 
Sorry for bad cell phone pic. Finally landed it. Somewhere around 15". Clearly the biggest fish I have caught in town, except for a few steelhead years ago. Those are not native––they get trucked in when the weirs are full on other rivers. Here's a better pic of the fish. 
With that, it was time to head home for dinner. Total elapsed time: under 2 hours. Nice to have some good results in such short time after being away so long. And yeah, felt soles with studs are MUCH grippier than felt alone. Loving the new wading boots. |