The Edge With a Bad Hand
2/09/24
Looking at the crick, from the bank, it had good color and not very deep off the bank. Maybe 2 feet visibility to see the crick bottom in the knee deep water. The deeper water was grayish green where nothing below is visible. There were already fishermen nymph fishing the deeper section behind the shop. There was enough room to slip between them but why make them uncomfortable when the rest of the crick is available without the tension? I stepped off the bank into the cold flowing February water. I waded out into the faster water that flowed and widened into the deeper section.
Before I go on, this was only my second time out this year since the beginning of December. I had pinched a nerve in my right arm that left my ring finger, pinkie and that side of my palm numb on my right hand. This also left the rest of my fingers and thumb with less strength. Without going into detail I had all the tests done and diagnosis and the results is that it may take 2-3 months to heal. There is no drug or exercise that can hasten the healing process. I’m right handed. It’s a weird feeling. 2 days ago I was out fishing, since my misfortune, and found I can’t roll cast worth diddly squat and my overhand casting is awkward and I can’t make any long effort casts. I didn’t catch anything then but it was good to know what I can do with a fly rod in my hand.
It’s late morning and the sun is shining through the wintry gray clouds. I was hoping for a lil stonefly hatch but it may be later in the day once the water warms up a bit. I knotted on a Triple Threat streamer and cautiously cast towards the far bank and let it drift down crick in an arc. The third cast I felt a pulling tug and quickly set the hook. My first fish was on. Not a big one but it felt good to catch a fish within minutes of wetting a line. It was a nice eager brown trout.
With that, coming so quickly, I figured it was going to be a good fish catching day all day. It was about 1130 but I didn’t get a take until another hour and a half later. Hooking up to another brown trout down stream on a Triple Threat.
I did try nymphing in between that hour and a half without a strike. The other fishermen weren’t doing any better either. Only one guy was catching a fish on occasion but they were suckers. I’m not sure what he was using in this delayed harvest artificial lure only waters but whatever it was the suckers liked it better than the trout.
After that last brown it would take another 2 ½ hours before I got another hook set but it was a doozy. In the mean time fishermen would come and go like visitors in an art gallery. They would take time looking at the scenery, get bored and moved to the next area with more paintings. Finally get bored without any entertainment and leave.
I waded back into the faster water where I caught my first brown trout. In those two and a half hours I got two short strikes that they wouldn’t strike again. It was if my imitation looked enticing but tasted like liver and they weren’t going back for a bigger bite. I waded down, as I was casting the steamer, stopping across from a calmer wavy current behind a hidden bolder beneath. This looked like a good deeper holding spot, behind the bolder and under the riffles. The sun was shining brightly and I noticed a few midges flying around. There was a bigger fly, maybe a lil stonefly that would skirt across the water but they were too far away to determine.
When nymph fishing earlier I was using an assortment of bead head stoneflies, Zebra midges and other small nymphs that didn’t entice any strikes. I decided to knot on a weighted, non bead, Kaufman stone and above that a San Juan worm I tie with a bead. I lit a cigar and figured on just enjoying the warm sunshine and not get too ambitious about catching anything exciting.
Trout are curious and I figured the bright red San Juan worm might attract an onlooker and after refusing the worm maybe seeing the nymph and taking it. It hadn’t rained in some time so I didn’t figure any worms got washed into the crick so I figured the San Juan would be more of attracting a fish rather than actually catching one on it. I made a short overhand casts, or a sloppy roll casts upstream, mended line, and let them dead drift under the wavy current.
My stonefly was weighted and with the bead on the San Juan I thought would get my offering down to the crick bed for any lazy trout to see. If it didn’t work I’d add more weight as needed. I wasn’t using an indicator, float, bobber or what ever the term they use these days. I just watch the tip of my floating fly line and any unusual flow or dip I’d go for a hook set. About my forth drift through the tip of my fly line dipped in front of me. I quickly raised the rod, pulled in line to set the hook. Limp line shot up out of the water and tightened and the 9’ 4 weight instantly bowed into the mid section. There was a brief pause and then the line took off out towards the far bank and then turned down crick with weighty tugs. Line peeled off the tensioned spool and by the bend in the rod and the grip in my hand to keep the rod up I knew I had a doozy.
I couldn’t hold the rod up steady with my right hand, being half numb, so I had to switch the rod to my left hand for a stronger grip. I’m glad I had my reel drag set half decent. Though I cast with my right hand I also reel in with my right hand. Thus being the drag knob is on the left side so I wasn’t able to adjust the tension. I couldn’t hold, or play the trout with the fly line pinched between my right finger and thumb because I didn’t have the strength to do so. I had the trout coming towards me a few times but he took off each time. With 4lb tippet on my 4 weight rod I didn’t want to horse him in so I had to be patient and tire him out the best I could. During the struggle he swirled water just below the surface so I got to get an eyeball on the big rainbow before he took deep again. With my net attached to my left side I knew I had to switch hands again to net him. This meant I had to hold the rod high enough with enough strength with a three finger grip in my right hand. I also had to pinch the fly line against the cork handle with enough strength not to let the fish take off, taking line, if he decides he doesn’t want to be netted just yet. I thought all this out in my head. I knew the longer it took to tire the trout the more likely I’d lose him.
When I finally got the fish close enough to net I switched the rod to my right hand and took out the net with my left. The trout took off like a feral cat cornered in a back alley. Line slipped through my weak pinching finger. I dropped the net and switched hands again to fight the fish and reel him in with my right hand. Once close enough I switched hands and was finally able to net the big trout. The Kaufman stonefly was just piercing the outer layer of lip skin that could of pulled out at any time. With my fingers I was able to dislodge the hook with ease. After a quick picture I tilted the net in the water and he left like an embarrassed shy young man getting rejected by a cute girl for the next dance at the high school prom.
Any experienced on looker was probably scratching their heads why I took so long, switching hands so many times, to get the fish to the net.
I looked at the time and it was 3:40. Normally I might have quit, being out so long, but I was planning on leaving around 4 so a few more minutes, and time really wasn’t a definite problem.
I checked my offerings and they still were in tact with no visual problems. I made awkward casts and watched my fly line as before. Within 5 minutes, according to my phone photos, my fly line curved upstream and I set the hook. As before my line straightened and the fish took off as the 9 footer bowed good into the midsection. I had another biggie. Having just experience this I knew it was going to take some time to get the big trout in but I didn’t have to think this one out using my half numb hand.
This trout came up below the surface more often and maybe just to see who faked him out with such an attractive imitation. This trout took the San Juan worm as each time he appeared I saw it hanging half out of his mouth. Though it appeared he had the same girt I think he was a little longer as I had a harder time fitting him in the net.
It took a little longer unhooking the San Juan from his inner lip but I managed to yank it out OK. After a quick picture I was holding him up out of the net to show the bank-side onlookers the big rainbow. When I got it to the top of the brim the trout wiggled enough and I lost my grip in my half numb hand. It slid off the rim of the net and into the water. I guess it didn’t want to show it’s brawn physique to the spectators, being it lost the fight, and just wanted to disappear without anyone gawking at it!
I took out my last stogie and lit it up under the sunlight. I continued fishing the same pattern and hooked up two more times to smaller fish. One I had on a short while before it came loose. The second one spit the hook as soon as the line tightened. Spitting it out like a sunflower seed husk after getting the kernel out of it.
On the way home I smoked the stogie thinking about my accomplishment. Last May I broke my custom made 9’ 4weight fast action fly rod while casting a dry fly. The center section fibers split apart like a bow string. The only thing I figured, about two weeks before that I had caught a huge rainbow I fought and had a hard time bringing it up from the bottom in knee deep water. The rod was bent good and that’s when I think the weakness started. The motion of the overhand cast evidently continued to weaken and the rod section finally splintered. I looked around for another 9’ 4 weight 4 piece rod and I guess it’s not a popular model. I found a sale on such a rod from Edge Rod Company. That I understand they were designed/made under the supervision of Gary Loomis. Knowing that, I figured they had to be quality rods. That was the rod I was just using when I caught those two big rainbows. Casting this rod and bringing in the catch was no big problem, bad hand and all.
~doubletaper
