Another Quick Release

Two words crystallize how bad the fishing conditions were this morning: flood advisory. The rain continued to alternate between drizzle and down pour. The stream was stained and running high. I had every reason in the world to stay warm in my house. But my friend Duane said he might be able to meet me on the stream so I was out at sunrise.

I worked the stream with no success for about an hour and a half. I was walking back to my car demoralized, wet, and defeated when I ran into Duane. He gave me some insights on how to approach the stream. Just when I was prepared to call it quits I felt a tug on my line. I set the hook on what turned out to be a large brown trout. I was giving him line and just about had him on the fly reel when he started jumping. As the fish leaps from the water we can see this beautiful brown trout in the 2lb range. He leaps again and breaks the tippet. “That was exciting, ” proclaims Duane. Yes it was exciting. But it also continues my abysmal record landing big fish. In this case my fatal shortfall was in preparation; I had tied on an unmarked leader that turned out to be way too light to land the fish. It now seems obvious. If you are going to fish stained water that may require heavier flies, bringing a 4WT Rod with a light tippet is probably not the way to go.

My Uncle Leroy used to say that fishing is best when the conditions are bad. In my experience this is true if you define success in terms of small numbers of big fish. Larger fish are often associated with a stained water condition. This is because fish are more reliant on their lateral line when visibility is poor. When Bass fishing I adjust to this by going for larger lures that make vibrations. When fly-fishing for trout I go for bigger flies. These tactics tend to draw bigger fish not just because of the bait size, but bigger fish have more developed lateral lines that give them an advantage in locating the lure or fly.

Lesson learned: be particularly prepared to land a big fish in a stained water condition, it may be the only bite of the day