Posted by Vic Bergman under On The Water
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I was able to get away for a few hours this afternoon and decided to do some creek fishing. Because I had to be back before the shop closed, I didn’t go far from town. There didn’t appear to be anyone else fishing the creek and I was pleased to see I’d have the water to myself. It wasn’t a particularly long stretch of water I planned to fish, perhaps 200 yards. But there would be four or five pools and runs … enough to keep me occupied for a couple of hours. Here’s how things went for me this afternoon.
POOL #1
I missed a good fish here, right off the start
On my first cast, a nice trout rose to my SA Hopper, but missed. Not wanting to take any chances, I changed flies and put on a Coachman Trude. The fish rose again, but refused the fly. I changed flies once more and tied on an Elk Hair Caddis. Yet another refusal. I made a few more casts, but nothing. “Smart fish; it’s probably seen a few flies this season,” I thought. I headed upstream to the next pool to look for one that was “less educated.” Maybe I could come back and try for this one again, later.
POOL #2
This pool was a bit deeper than the first and looked quite promising. I had two more refusals, on back to back casts. Another trout rose 20 feet upstream. I managed to get my fly to the fish. Missed it. It was my fault, though, I was too anxious when setting the hook.
Great looking pool
POOL #3
Fish On! … finally. Wait a minute; fish off … it got away! At least I still had my fly. I made a few more casts, without success. It was time to move up to the next pool.
Pretty water, that's for sure
POOL #4
Maybe the deepest pool in this section, with trees and “fly-eating” branches that kept getting in the way. Twice, I managed to hook the same branches behind me. They were too high for me to reach my fly. I gave the leader a good tug and got everything back, including the fly … both times. Had a fish on for a couple of seconds, before it slipped the hook. I was beginning to wonder whether I should have stayed at work, instead. The last pool was just around the corner.
Yet another good pool
POOL #5
I cast my fly onto the water and lost sight of it. A trout rose, but I couldn’t tell whether it was to my fly. It was. I didn’t set the hook in time. Another missed opportunity. A couple of casts later and there was another rise to my fly. This time, I did everything right. The trout jumped from the water a couple of times before I was able to land it. A decent cuttbow for this creek.
A colorful cuttbow
POOL #1 (One More Time)
On my way back to the truck I decided to try the first pool one last time. I re-attached the SA Hopper to my tippet and crawled on my hands and knees, until I was in position. A trout rose in the tail-out of the pool, just as some people drove by in a black jeep. They didn’t see me and I started to cast. The fish came to the surface and took my fly. I quickly landed the trout, a 12-inch cutthroat. Nice fish, but not the one I had seen earlier. I made a few more attempts, without as much as a look by another trout.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. If the trout wasn’t going to come up to a dry, maybe going down with a nymph would be the answer. I attached 18 inches of 6X tippet to the hopper and tied on a #16 Copper John. I cast the flies into the current flowing against the grassy bank and watched the dry fly as it drifted toward me. It only floated a few feet, before it disapearing under the surface. As soon as I set the hook I knew it was the fish I’d seen a couple hours earlier. The rainbow trout provided a good work-out for my rod and arm. Shortly after landing the trout, I headed back to the shop. I had a big smile on my face.
A great way to end the day!
