The eyes have it

I spent the afternoon slipping the boat down my local river, pitching big uglies on wire to bankside structure, weed beds and open water.  The temps were in the 50's and the clouds were so thick and low that rain was perpetually a concern.  I pounded the water hard for a few hours hoping to drum up a musky or even a pike.  That didn't happen.  I ended up anchoring off some wood and caught a few gills and crappies but it seems like most of them have either moved on or are sulking in this depressing weather. 

I drove home, pulled the boat into the garage and had dinner as well as two slices of the delicious banana cream pie that my wife made. 

My kids went off to bed and my wife dug into her work.  
Soooo, I put my waders on, grabbed my 6 wt and hit the door (again).

The lake was calm on the side I was wading.  Nothing moved.  No fishy splashes, ducks swimming, turtles looking around.  No insects either.  The low clouds looked even lower in the failing light.  I opted for a little clouser type bonefish fly that was about the same size and color as the proven Deceivers I like to fish here.  I landed 1 small white bass in the dark before a boat pulled in a little too close and neighborhooded me...  I thought about double-hauling a lead-eye against the hull of his aluminum Lund just as a warning shot, but I chickened out on the last forward haul, dropped the fly short and then on the 3rd or 4th strip back, drilled another small white bass.

Eventually the Lund left the scene leaving me belt deep in the inky water which had very little contrast to the thick darkness of the night sky.  Alone with my thoughts and my imagination...the "creep factor" deserves a post of it's own.  Luckily the desire to fish, has led me to conquer many of my fears and so I stayed put...reasoning that the chance to hook another fish was well worth the risk of being attacked and eaten by this lake's first documented rogue (fill in the blank) beaver / musky / submerged serial killer with a goalie mask.

But nothing else happened, 

until I turned on my headlamp and waded to shore.

I spotted the walleye in 6 inches of water when the beam of my lamp made its eyes glow like a marble with an LED inside.  It moved about 8' to slightly deeper (15") water.  I quickly took the beam off the glowing eye, popped the fly free, stripped of 15' of line and with my lamp aimed high enough not to spotlight the fish, I pitched.  Cast 1 and 2 didn't interest the fish.  On the 3rd cast, the little glowing marble charged forward and then my rod bent.  It was really cool to see.  I was so wrapped up in watching it's eye chasing my fly that I had a little bit of a disconnect when the eye became a fish on my line.  The fish moved a good 4 feet to intercept the fly which gives me a lot more confidence in covering water at night.  These fish can sense/see a fly VERY well.  Despite it being a small 12" fish, it was certainly a highlight of my angling day.