~StreamSide Tales~: Need a Bigger Net

Monday, April 12, 2021

Need a Bigger Net

4/09/2021

The group of bait chuckers were downstream from me fishing in a faster run. They were kind of lined up, knee deep, keeping their safe Covid distance away from each other. (I’m sure none of them cared being that they were all camping with each other as a group.) I was a fair piece upstream, standing on a flat rock a third of the way across the wide section of water, fishing a slower deeper pool. I was making long cast down and across, with my fast action 5 weight, 9’ fly rod, with a variety of different color Woolly Buggers but only caught a couple of small rainbows in the past ½ hour or so. Another young man, from the group, waded knee deep between me and the group of guys downstream. There was plenty of room between us and he started casting his spinning rod out beyond where I could reach anyhow. Well he started picking off trout, one after another, with no end in sight. One of the other fellows ask him what he was using and the young guy catching all the trout told him minnows.

As he continued to catch trout after trout on his minnows I wasn’t getting any strikes on my bugger offerings. It was like he was the new handsome kid at school and the girls all clung around him and ignored the rest of us fellows. I unsnapped the Bugger from my Fas-Snap and decided to snap on my best looking Triple Threat minnow pattern. I set it under the water, to my side, so the Polar Fibers would soak up the water and make it cast easier. My fist cast was across the crick right in front of me of about 25 feet or so and I watched the Triple Threat sink and start to swing with the slow current out of sight. Before me I saw a long dark oblong shape quickly swimming in the direction of my streamer from up stream passing me by. I couldn’t see my streamer but when I felt the sharp nudge on the rod and in my grip I yanked upward to set the hook. The line tightened, the rod arced downward and I tightened my grip around the cork handle. The trout pulled away down crick like a rolling bowling ball with no way of stopping it. The excess line, I had on the water, uncoiled in a jiff through my tensioned fingers. Once all the extra line was off the water the spool spun out line as I grabbed the rod handle with two hands. Downstream he exploded out of the water clearing the water surface of at least 10”. His big body twisted and turned in mid-air. Water sprayed everywhere as the sun rays shimmered off his wet body like a strobe lite ball. He splashed down upon the surface with a loud cannon ball entry and dove deep. After a few jolting head shakes he darted out across crick and more line peeled off the spool. As he started to swim upstream I was reeling in line as quick as I could keeping a tight line and the rod top section bowed towards the heavy trout. About 15 yards away, down and across, he came barreling out of the water again as if shot out of a cannon. Again he cleared the water surface by 10” or more. His body twisting as he shook his head trying to release the hook and be free from the tight line and rod resistance. I gave him some slack hoping the hook wouldn’t come loose during his aerial display. When he hit the water again, spraying water in all directions, I put some tension on the line between my fingers as the rod top section arced with his weight. He never exploded out of the water again but took the battle beneath the surface with fierce tugs and pulls. He maneuvered his way beneath, covering water, using his weight and current to his advantage and keeping his distance not letting me shorten the distance between us for some time. Once he came nearer to the surface I knew he was tiring and exhausting his energy. I was reeling line in getting him closer to me with the rod high and with a half decent arc. I knelt on one knee, on the flat rock I had been standing on in the middle of the crick, so I was closer to the water when ready to net him. When he wouldn’t swim any closer I just let him fight the arced rod pressure but when he was strong enough I had to let some tension line slip through my fingers. It was a short distant melee for a time being. When he got closer he had the strength and body weight to pull away and I had to lesson the pressure on the 5X tippet and let him take line out. This went on longer than I wanted it too and I didn’t want him to be totally exhausted by the time I got him in the net. I finally got the upper hand as he drew closer and tried netting him. I wasn’t sure if I could even get him in the net and keep him in there safely. He splashed and flipped when he felt the net but I was able to get most of his body cradled in the net. I could see the hook was secured well in his upper lip as he squirmed in the net. With his weight it was hard to hold the net in a level position until he settled down a little more as he almost flipped out of the net a few times. It was like trying to balance a volleyball on a badminton racket on a windy day while standing in the surf with one hand. I knew he was pretty exhausted so I only took one quick picture before letting him go. I laid the net in the water and I thought he swam out safely. As I watched him, as I stood on the flat rock, I saw him turn belly up and flowing with the slow current just under the surface. He was heading for the guy that was catching all the trout on minnows. I called out to him and told him the trout was heading towards him and was belly up. He was able to hand catch the trout and brought him towards the bank. It took longer than I expected but the guy did a great job being patient and reviving the big rainbow before letting him swim on his own. Of course I thanked him for his good deed.

It turned out to be another good day on the water and of course the big rainbow was the prize catch of the day.

Back at camp I had Venison Fajitas and refried black beans with a pint of Brown Ale from the local brewery.