Yard Sales

 Yard Sales

5/21/24

 I went to fish a new section of water on Kettle Creek. It's the same stream I've been fishing the past few days just a different section. It's like using the same roadway each day just stopping at different yard sales. Just because you find something worth your while at one yard sale doesn't mean if you go back to the same place the next day you'll find something different. So I'm fishing the same water just at different stops along the way for different scenery and different pleasing outcomes.

 I parked along the road and took the long walk down the private, walk in only, drivable lane. I passed camps along the walk and then walked upstream to the section I wanted to start fishing. When I got there I was alone. I threaded the weight forward fly line through the guides and eyes of my Icon 9' 5 weight fly rod. Looking over the creek the water flowing into the deeper section was very wavy with white caps. I knew, from experience, in this kind of choppy water condition trout will be holding in the calmer water cross creek. The trick is cast with plenty of slack line and hope a trout takes the dry before the faster current sweeps it down creek swiftly. I didn't even put a Woolly Bugger on first but went right to a long body March Brown parachute. I dabbed the body with liquid gel floatant and made a long cast, over the wavy current, to the calmer current on the other side. A trout rose quickly at my lone imitation. I was ready and jerked the rod back for a hook set. The fly line shot up out of the water and the line tightened to an angry trout. It was tough going getting him across the heavy undercurrent but I managed to get him to my net safely. He must have been pretty hungry for my fly was inside his mouth. I carefully pinched the hemostats on the hook bend and unhooked the fly.

   Continuing to cast to the calmer water cross creek I managed one more rainbow on the MB imitation. I thought my performance so far was excellent. Two for two on risers, hook sets and netting!

 Being I was alone I had lots of room to take my time slowly wading down creek and casting out hoping for a rise. Kind of like checking each booth at a flea market, from a distance, hoping to spot something interesting that raises my enthusiasm.

 I was making long purpose casts across creek and watching the white parachute stem of my March Brown dry. Any indication of it disappearing on the subtle waves or a splash I was ready to rear back the 9 footer and set the hook.

  Downstream a bit the water flowed more towards the far bank. Between there and I the water was much calmer and deeper. The far side rippled in smaller waves where I watched my dry fly bob up and down on the riffles. I stood in the morning sunshine whereas, because of the trees on the far side, the sun rays threw shadows on the rippling water surface. At the time I had plenty of room for a back cast to make a decent long cast to the other side. I wasn't in a hurry so I took my time to cover the water thoroughly. 

 Down creek I saw my first rise just before a white blossom tree that was over hanging the far bank. I was anxious to get within casting range but didn't want to skip over any uncovered water. When I was finally able to cast near the blooming tree I missed a rise three times in the area before no trout came up again. I couldn't understand how I missed the takes. I continued on casting till the wavy water petered out and became a wide section of flat calm water.

 Now I'll be casting upstream as I wade back up to where I started. I made a long upstream cast and my dry landed near the far bank. It dropped just downstream from the blooming tree. I took in line as needed as the dry drifted down with the flow. A mouth rose on the surface and snapped at it like it was waiting to be fed. I pulled in line, raised the rod up and back and got the hook set and a tight line. I'm not sure if it was one I missed earlier a couple of times but I said to myself 'gotcha this time!' 

 He struggled beneath trying to unhook himself. He raced through the deep section and up into the faster undercurrent. He was a mean cuss and not like the two rainbows I caught earlier. I got him turned down creek and he raced down so fast I couldn't keep a tight line on him as I pulled in line and reached the rod higher. I thought he had managed to get loose. When I got all the line in the rod bowed downward with a tight line. He was still on but not happy about it.We battled a bit more as he thwarted beneath. The 5 weight flexed and rebounded with each jolting tug. I got him within net reach and guided him into it. What a fine specimen! I'm not sure if he was stream bred but he had the looks of one. If not he was definitely in the creek for many full moons ago. He had recognizable orange dots scattered along his side. His sandy belly and dark complexion told me he wasn't a fresh, this year stocky. 

 Continuing wading and casting up creek, in the riffles, I caught another brown trout on the March Brown. He looked more like a newbie to the water. He had a white belly and lighter complexion. He didn't earn any orangish spots just yet which usually only appear on long time members of the Brown Trout Club. 

 

 Back up where I caught the two rainbows I tied into another wild brownie on the March Brown. He also gave me a good tussle. When I finally netted him I saw my dry MB neatly hooked in his upper jaw like a well placed piercing through the upper lip. He too looked like a distant cousin to the older brown I caught earlier.

 I caught another rainbow and another brown trout before wading and fishing my way downstream.

   The section downstream was wider and shallower. the water roughened with tumbling waves over and between half exposed rocks. Having fished this section last year I knew there were deeper pockets within the shallows. I caught quite a few brook trout and small brown trout within the shady far bank under and near the hanging tree limbs. I figured, with the deeper water this year, the trout may of come out of their safe place and ventured out midstream for some food.

 I  positioned myself half way between both banks and slowly waded and fished both sides. I casted out the March Brown about especially concentrating near the far bank. My surprise, letting the March Brown drift midstream, I had a couple of takes. I missed the first quick nab for it but got him on my second cast. The grab was quick like a brook trout in a narrow mountain creek snapping at anything that looked buggy on the surface. The trout was no match for my 5 weight so I got the little guy in pretty quick. Looking at him in the net I swear he was a stream bred brook trout. He had the light yellow halos spread across his bluish silvery body. Little orange spots were sprinkled throughout his sides like they were splashed on from a painters brush. The definite orange fins are a trademark of the brook trout that no other trout have.

  The large March Brown looked out of place as it was pierced just left of center of his upper lip. 

 

 I released him and continued on casting more often midstream. I caught a couple more dinks and missed a few quick snaps at my March Brown. The ones I caught were lil brookies and lil brown trout and by the quick rises to my MB, that I missed, I figured were little guys also.

 Looking down creek I saw a flat rock beneath the surface water. It was just out from the shadows of the trees and under the sunshine. It looked at the most knee deep and for some odd reason conjured up a memory of catching a couple of lil brookies around it before. 

 I made a cast down creek well up from the flat rock as to not scare any trout near by. I had enough slack in the line following my March Brown as it drifted drag free towards the rock. First drift, nothing. I casted again and let it drift through. Still nothing. 

 One thing I do where no trout are rising with no Mayflies around is cast at least three times within the same location. The first cast I figure might be a surprise to a trout and pass him by before he can get a bead on it. The second drift through, if he doesn't take it, is either not liking the looks of it or figures it is just out of place but may get his appetite back?  The third drift is usually my 'what the heck' drift but sometimes encourages a strike.

 I drop my third cast a little closer upstream from the flat rock. I watch the March Brown float towards my side of the flat rock. A mouth comes into view and sucks it in like it had been waiting for a slow moving, appetite appealing, Mayfly to pass by. I yank the rod up and back and the line tightens once again. This time the trout doesn't follow the arcing and pull of the rod like the smaller trout. The rod bows more deeply and the fish on the other end pulls line off the spool down creek through my tensioned fingers. I knew right then that I had something larger than those little guys. He put up a short struggle and I was able to get him into the net quickly in the shallower water. I was surprised and didn't expect such a larger brown trout holding in the shallow waters with the little guys. He also looked like he was stream bred or a hold over from years past.

   I was pretty close to my exit point. The water below was slow moving flat water clear across the creek. Under the sunshine I didn't expect any surface activity or any surprise takes on such slow moving conditions. I waded to the bank and headed to the truck. 

  Every year I come up to Kettle Creek I have to stop at the Cross Fork Restaurant and get myself an oyster burger and that's just where I was headed. I don't know where they get their oysters but they make a good sandwich and I had never got sick on them.

 Back at camp I took a nap and finished off the evening snacking on smoked cheese, dried salami, a stick of pepperoni, crackers, Greek olive mix, etc. I finished off the bottle of white wine, with my snacks, that I had leftover from Sunday's pasta dinner. 

 It was another good day of dry fly fishing and good eats!

~doubletaper