One's I Haven't Met

 One's I haven't Met

6/11/24

 I've been fishing the same section of water on the river the past few days. A smaller white SUV has been riding up and down River Road quite often each day. Every time they see my truck parked aside the road they slowed down and watch me fish. I'm sure they saw my fly rod bent often enough.

 I had my kayak loaded down by the river and I was putting my fishing gear on when the SUV stopped and the driver and I carried on a conversation. In talking he jokingly asked me "don't you get tired of catching the same fish?" 

I raised my head and looked at him and replied "There's fish out there I haven't met yet!" He laughed while I sort of chuckled at my reply.

 I paddled the kayak across the river to the other side. After banking the kayak I threaded the Icon 9 footer with weight forward floating line. I was planning on dry fly fishing, like I've been doing, but there weren't any risers yet this morning. Besides I've caught my biggest fish on Woolly Bugger so I knotted one on.

 The day before it was overcast and colder. There were very few rises and near noon the only fish I saw rising were for what looked like midges and wouldn't take anything I offered. This morning was a bit warmer and getting bright out. It was still a bit chilly though so I wore a Duofold mid weight and 'T' shirt under my Columbia button down. I was hoping there would be more activity on the surface. 

  I casted out the Woolly Bugger into the wavy water and let it drift down river. After each cast I would wade a step or two down and cast again. I caught one small smallmouth on the bugger before I saw my first rise mid-river. I clipped off the bugger and knotted on a Blonde Elk Hair Caddis with a dark body that I had just tied up a couple of days ago.

 A couple of days ago I was fishing the same area and these big caddis where coming off the water and fish were taking them at will. They were a bit clumsy as they would take a few skips off the surface, as if they were still drying off their wings, before taking flight. Kind of like a duck flying off a pond. I didn't have any caddis that big that matched the color or size so I was at a disadvantage. I was ready for them today though.

 I casted the caddis just upstream from where I saw the rise onto the wavy water and watch it drift into the feeding zone. A fish splashes at it and I pull back line and rod and the line tightens. I net a smallmouth. I hook 3 more small smallmouth before I get a real challenge. 

 Downstream a little further there was a fish that rose half out of the water. I kept focus on that spot as I waded downriver within reach. I noticed there were those big caddis coming off the water here or there on occasion. Within reach I false casted, pulling line out, and heaved a looping cast in the vicinity. The third cast I think my caddis dropped right on the fishes head. He came out of the water and inhaled my caddis in mid-air like a vacuum cleaner sucking up dust bunnies. He plopped down with my caddis with line attached. The rod arced towards the take as the line tightened securely. Underneath the fish took off down and away. I let go of the line and let the reel drag take hold of the fleeing fish. There was no stopping him. He would slow down now and then but when he felt me pulling back he'd take off again. Being that I cast and reel in with my right hand I'm able to adjust the drag with my left at any time. I tightened the drag a bit and it was enough to slow him down and slowly swim mid-river. All during the battle I was slowly wading downriver to catch up with him not wanting to get into my backing. I had 4x tippet but I always try to be careful not to over stress the tippet material or my knots. 

 He put up a good heavy fight battling out in the open current water. I could tell he was a heavy fish but wasn't sure what he was until I got him in the knee deep water near where I was standing. He swung towards me and I netted him. Wow, he was a big old smallmouth that took the big caddis I offered. Now this is one fish I hadn't met before. He had my caddis stuck into his lower jaw.

 I lit up my first cigar after letting the big smallmouth go. I continued casting the big caddis and caught a fish now and then.

   At a time there was one fish downriver from me within casting distance. He couldn't of been in more than shin deep water sucking up eats. I tried for him, almost daring him to take the big caddis, but he never rose to it. I figured he was just a small fish anyway. Not seeing any more rises outward I decided to go small and try to catch the little sipper downriver from me. I knotted on a #18 deer hair caddis. I didn't bother going down to 5x tippet because I was still planning on throwing the big #12 caddis later.

 I made a short cast downstream with slack in the line. I was slowly pulling line off the reel letting the caddis drift drag free downstream like I was using a pinning rod and reel. I watched as a mouth came up from the side and slurped it up. I reared back the rod. The slack line shot up out of the water and the rod bowed but didn't retract like it had when I hooked a smaller fish. It was if I had a snag until the line took off. I had another big fighter on the line.

 He took off downriver towards deeper water carrying on with vicious tugs and jarring head shakes. Fly line zipped through the guides and eyes like a ships anchor chain through a hawsepipe when its heavy anchor is thrown overboard. The drag pressure finally slowed him down as I slowly waded downriver keeping up with him. I got him turned and he headed up into the wavy current. With the line straight out across from me I was able to tire him out more. He continued on upstream as tension line slipped through my fingers. He finally turned downstream and I was able to reel in line and tighten the drag. We put on a good battling show of wits with neither of us giving up for sometime. I'm sure it was entertaining for anyone watching. He finally gave up, with some resistance, and swam a little closer for my observation. I was now able to see I had a sizable brown trout. He evidently felt too close to me and tail swatted away enough to bow the rod and enough resisting pressure on him. I had to give him tension line though as it slipped through my fingers. He turned downstream and I held the rod out away from me towards mid-river. He turned again and followed the pressure swimming upstream into the flow. Passing me I reeled in line and then took out my net with my other hand. By now he was flopping around in front of me as I held the rod high. He turned and I scooped him in the net safely. 

 Wow, another fellow I hadn't met before and I thought he was just a small fish sipping midges in the shallows. He was a well freckled brown trout with little ruby spots adorning his sides. His belly was dark sand color with my caddis stuck in the side of his mouth. He's been in the river for years I would guess.

 After that catch I didn't figure it was only small fish feeding in the shallows. In fact I was catching smallmouth out in the deeper part of the river on the big caddis and brown trout feeding in the knee deep to shin deep water like waiting for curb side pickup.

  

 

   Any time I would see a rise I would wade in that direction to get within easier casting distance. More than not it paid off. All morning I was hooking up with smallmouth and trout on dry flies as time ticked away. Most of the smallmouth were small and some average and a couple of trout to boot. It didn't matter, big or small, as long as I was catching them on my dry flies.

  One nice rainbow, unwillingly, joined in on the fun. He took my caddis with a porpoise leap. I reared back in time to get him hooked. He put up a good fight in the wavy current. I don't remember meeting him before.

 I was enjoying myself. Smoking a cigar and hooking fish.

 Fish continued to rise and I continued catching. After each catch, if my caddis wasn't waterlogged, I'd dry it off with my handkerchief and then dip it in dry fly powder that absorbed the wetness and coated it with silicone or whatever the powder is. I'd blow the powder off and it floated as good as new. Other times if it was drenched I'd just nip it off and knot on another. Sometimes I would see just a swirl on the surface that gave me a clue something sipped my offering. Other times there was a hardy splash. I felt like a magician at times fooling fish after fish with my magical dust that kept my offering afloat to deceive the crowd on my imitation.

 Rises were slowing down and the ones I hadn't fooled or missed weren't giving in to any more magic tricks. I waded down river to where the water was calmer and waves were subtle. I made a cast just across from me and the big caddis drifted drag free on the surface like a tennis ball on an ocean wave as if waiting for a dog to fetch it. Well that dog rose and gulped at it with a sounding splash. After the line tightened a smallmouth exploded out of the water flailing like a scared clown falling off a tight rope and plopping into a tub of water. I could see I had a biggy. His weight and strength was enough to keep me concerned of my knots as he took line out like a kite in a wind storm off a spool of kite string. There was no holding him back for fear of snapping my tippet. Out further he tugged and headed up into the faster current. I battled with him trying to tame him, like a lion tamer, trying to get him to do like I wanted. It took time to do so. I was amazed when I finally netted the brute of how big and fat he was. My big #12 caddis looked not so big pierced in his lip. It was the biggest smallmouth I ever caught on a dry fly.

 After noon there wasn't much happening as far as risers went in the slower tail out. There were a few now and then but none wanted a caddis. looking up into the riffling water upstream I started to see risers pretty plentiful. There were sulfurs hopping on and off the surface like female caddis wanting to lay eggs. There were some tan winged caddis skipping around also but I was more interested in fooling the fish with a sulfur imitation. I lit another stogie, knotted on a yellow compara-dun sulfur, and waded upstream. I started to cast to every rise I saw. Most of the fish I caught were smaller smallmouth but once in a while I caught a bigger one. It was fun reacting quickly and hooking up to their rises in the faster riffling flow. That lasted for some time till I gave most of them sore lips.

  Looking downriver I noticed a few fish rising. I waded downriver with my sulfur within casting distance. The fish had more time to inspect my imitation in the slower water. I'd watch the naturals dancing on and off the surface flapping their wings. They were the ones the fish were keying on as long as they were making a commotion on the surface. Sometimes I would see a fish try one, two and three times jumping half out of the water at a fluttering fly. They would eventually get it of give up on it like they were on a leash and couldn't swim downriver after it any further. I'd drop my sulfur within their zone but they would ignore it like a nickle on a busy sidewalk in the pouring rain. If I was able to drop the sulfur right on their head they would go for it immediately but that was like throwing darts at a blank piece of paper not knowing where the target spot was located on the other side of the paper. 

 There was a time that a fish would try to grab it when my sulfur started to drag. This gave me an idea. If I would twitch my sulfur with movement maybe that would get the fish curious enough to think it's real and go for it. I fooled a few fish doing just that. It wasn't always a hook up but it was fun watching them try for it. The good thing was if they missed it the first time they would try for it again on the next cast.

  There was this one fish downriver from me that was coming up frequently within knee deep water. I'd watch sulfurs and sometimes caddis flutter on the surface towards his location and he would rise and gulp them up. I drifted my sulfur over his head a few times but he didn't want anything to do with it. Well, it was time to tease him into submission.

 I knotted on a #14 caddis. I figured I'd show him something different. I casted and let my offering land, as I was hoping, within his sight. I had a pretty good idea his location. As the slow current carried my caddis downstream I'd lift my rod up and twitch the line just slightly to make the caddis kind of flutter on the surface. It didn't look like it was working to well but I kept it up and figured I'd reel it in when it got waterlogged and went under. All of a sudden a mouth rose and grabbed it. It was much more than a gentle slurp. I quickly reared back the rod and line and the line tightened. Laughing, I got the fooled smallmouth in without much trouble.

  My belly was aching for lunch and I was kind of feeling tired. I looked at the time and it was nearing 2:00. Not that I thought I couldn't fool any more fish, I just felt it was time for this magician to exit the stage.

 I met some new interesting acquaintances I hadn't met the days before.

~doubletaper