Zombies, Chromes and Browns
Halloween Weekend 2014
Being that I’ve been cut back to 4 days a week I took a vacation day to coincide with my day off and weekend which gave me a 4 day vacation. We headed to New York from Erie Pa. thursday morning about 2:00 am expecting to arrive at Oak Orchard River NY around 5:45 am.
Some may wonder what we do or what goes on in our brain as we stand there waiting for daybreak. Like I said it plays with my sanity.
Small red and white lights glow out in the water from headlamps or along the shore line like evil eyes in the darkness. There is nothing to fear though as they are just other humans waiting in the darkness for the same reasoning. Time tics on as small conversations stir up, muffled by the distance that carries the chatter along the river. A flicker of a cigarette or cigar is seen as more car headlights appear moving down the dirt road that leads to the parking area along the water.
As daylight appears you can hear rustling in coat pockets, vests and fishing packs. There’s splashing of folks wading from the bank to ’their’ spot in the river. Soon after you can hear the plops from heavy lead bell sinkers hitting the water surface being used to get the offerings down to the bottom of the river bed.
My target, with my 8 weight fly rod, is the big brown trout that hug the bottom. Fishing for these, in the river, is like trying to find a hidden treasure in a dungeon. The biggest threats are the Zombies, the sharp toothed creature that inhibit the river cistern.
What Zombies you might ask? The King Salmon that roam the waters. You find them dead along the banks and shallows rotting as their flesh peal away, some putrid white from decay. Occasionally you’ll see a ’floater’. One bloated drifting with the current, buggy eyed and helpless, and a sure sign of death. The ones to watch out for are the ’living’, unless you like spending lots of time battling these 26” to 40” and up ogres, disrupting other fishermen, along the river. These Zombies that still have enough strength to survive. Those that will take you into your backing by sure weight than bully strength. Sores upon their skin like open festered wounds. These sharp toothed creatures I try to avoid as they waver in the current, wallow in the shallows or swim in small groups causing havoc if caught. More than likely it will be by accident than by their hunger. Even this late in the season there are still odds you might bring in a decent one.
Zombie
Gary with a big King Salmon
Donny with a Coho Salmon
Than there are the New York Brown trout, the treasures of the river. They come in many different sizes and colors. This time of the season they appear to be plentiful but hooking into one isn’t as easy as one might think. I don’t think they attack out of curiosity or playfulness like a rainbow or brook trout. I believe it’s more out of hunger. They come to the river, I’m told, for dropped eggs of the spawning Kings and Steelhead. If you just so happen to be in their area during their hunger spell and have the right food offering, be it natural or imitation, you should have some fun.
Randy with his Brown Trout
Sunday, by the time we cleaned up the cottage and got to the river, was miserably crowded. People were lined up within rod lengths of each other. The 4 of us split up and searched for a spot to wet a line without breathing down some ones neck. The only claim to fame I can report was a nice steelhead that gave me a heck of a fight.
A great weekend was had by all.
~doubletaper
Holy cow! Those are some incredible fish! I wish I had a weekend like that!
ReplyDeletelast year we were a couple of weeks early for the brown trout. this year we hit it at a good time.
DeleteThose are some beautiful looking fish , I especially like the browns as I have a certain fondness for them (I might like the steelhead even more but I'll have to catch one to find out!).
ReplyDeleteA nice little cottage , some good friends and a river full of large fish to play with....that's gotta be a little slice of heaven!!
a slice of heaven it was!! the weather wasn't the best. notice the rain gear. when you're catching big fish the weather didn't matter much.
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