A Hardy Brown

 A Hardy Brown

5/01/24

 I had just got my Trout Unlimited 6 piece 4 weight Hardy Ultralite 8'8" fly rod in the mail. The reel was back ordered but that wasn't going to stop me from trying it out.

 I got to the parking area of the section of creek I wanted to fish. I opened up the case and unwrapped the cloth rod sock. The pearl olive blank sparkled under the afternoon sunlight. The wooden real seat is a plus and the cork handle was near a half well but with an indent for your thumb and finger. The thread wraps matched the rod blank perfectly so it looked like a one piece rod from the distance. I fitted the 6 pieces together and was surprised at how light it was. I attached my Orvis fly reel with WF4F line. The leader was only about 6' so I knotted on a section of 4x tippet and to that a strip of 5x tippet to make the length as long as the rod. The reason being is so when I net a fish I can keep the fly line loop, or my nail knot, from going into the tip top eye preventing it from catching in case the trout decides to take off. I put a couple of stogies in my vest pocket and headed out to the creek.

 Caddis were flying around like a bunch of bumble bees in a flowering field collecting pollen. There  were already fish rising to emergers or sipping down caddis off the surface. I knotted on a caddis and tossed it out to the risers.  I missed the first trout but after that no other trout attempted to take my imitation. I tried a couple of other caddis imitations but still no trout took any. I was casting across creek and letting the fly drift down stream, drag free, into their zone but they didn't want any part of it. Frustrated I started to try and catch one of the fluttering caddis in my cap. 

 In the distance I know anyone watching me probably though I was swatting flies from attacking me. I finally caught one in my cap and noticed the body color and size. I tied on an olive body elk hair caddis and casted it towards a riser. I caught a couple but when I casted upstream and let it drift down is when I had more success. 

 The section I was fishing was calm gently flowing surface water. The trout had plenty of time to examine my imitation but it fooled many a trout. I was having fun puffing on a cigar, casting to rising trout and fooling them time and again.

 I saw a rise just out in front of me a ways and like before I casted in front of him as to not let him see the line splash. As I watched it approach a nose came up, casually, and mouthed it like a well trained sitting dog being fed a small treat. The trout was probably surprised when it felt its lip being pierced but more surprised when it felt resistance and a pull from the arcing fly rod. I was as surprised as he was when he took off feeling that weighty trout on the other end pulling line off the spool. The battle was on!

 He stayed low not rising to the surface like the rainbows. I figured it was a brown trout. He took the line down creek with a couple of head tugs. I turned the rod upstream but he wasn't budging and continued battling down creek. I finally convinced him to swim upstream but maybe he was just heading that way anyhow because I didn't feel like I had control no matter which way he decided to swim. He tugged now and then but it was his weight that kept me from getting him closer.

 He started to swim in a big circle out in front of me, like a goldfish in a huge round fish bowl. He finally swam close enough that I could see he was a hefty brown staying close to the creek bed. I was in water up to my thighs and the nearest bank was too far to try and get him to it. The way things were going I didn't think he was going to cooperate anyhow. I had to figure out how to get him up in the water column so I could reach him with my net.

 Each time he circled, and started coming up creek, I'd raised the rod higher to try and coax him from the bottom. He'd start his circle up creek, swim outward and then swim downstream with a couple of tugs. As he circled upstream again, out in front of me, I'd raise the rod again. With that, each circle he rose higher in the water column. Swimming upstream I finally got him within net reach but I let him swim by. The next circle I moved the rod downstream and tried to move him closer. As he turned, swimming upstream I brought the rod up creek letting him swim with the tension of the arcing rod and tight line. Once in front of me I quickly brought the rod down creek, above and then behind him with a little more force. I had my net in the water and when he turned with the pressure of the arcing rod I bent over and scooped him up. He was surprised and flopped around in the net a bit. He calmed down quickly as if to admit 'you got me'! I got my camera out and got a quick picture in between him wiggling around. I reached my forceps into the net and unhooked the caddis from his jaw. I lowered the net into the water and he swam out with a healthy tail swat.  That was an unexpected surprise! 

 

 When no other trout were rising I lit another cigar and headed down creek. I waded over the shallow stony bottom riffles until I came to some deeper water. I caught one trout on a Woolly Bugger but for some time didn't get another hit. Then caddis started to flutter around and trout started to rise. I knew I had the right shade body but knotted on a #14 caddis to make it easier for the trout to see in the wavy, quick moving current. I was pinpointing my casts upstream from every riser I saw and letting it drift into their zone. It would be like hitting the corn hole board with every toss and having it slide into the hole for a score. I fooled almost every riser I saw into taking a caddis imitation. I was having a grand old time giggling with each trout I fooled.

 Well, the new Hardy fly rod was enjoyable to cast with no complaints. It was as if going on a blind date and being joyfully surprised with the outcome!

 

~doubletaper