Got'eem

Back to the creek to enjoy the sunshine.  I decide that it was perfectly worthwhile to get smoked by a cunning brown but that a hatchery tank fish had no right denying me.  A few fish chased caddis to the surface and sent spray skyward as I stood shin deep in the flow of my home water spring creek.  Elk hair caddis on top,  soft hackle fished straight down with a few strips to impart action, the same soft hackle fished down and across, soft hackle fished dead drift, midge larvae fished dead drift...nothing.  Not a bump, tap or strike.  I changed to a beadhead midge larvae, still nothing.  I dug through the boxes in my pack and decided to try a red larvae lace pattern, fished dead drift.  Finally the line stopped and I was reconnected with my foe.  This time I landed it.  Finally.

One fine little fly

It's no surprise to me that I needed to tie some more of these...the last batch has either been lost or destroyed by fish.  At the vice last night:

Hare's Ear Soft Hackles

Same run, same fish, same story...

I went back, pounded up that spring creek hatchery bow again and lost him again when he got below me.
I even sized up to a 16 soft hackle fish down and across slooooow and looooow.
I thought I was ready. 

The wild browns are certainly nothing to scoff at.  

Interestingly the caddis are already popping.  Not a full blown hatch, but there were a number of fish chasing the emerging bugs up to the surface...

Tying

With early season spring trout season upon us, a trip to Marco Island slotted in two weeks and a trip to the Bahamas 6 weeks away, the vise is getting used.  It's amazing how fast time flies and how many flies you can add to the boxes if you sit down and tie a dozen or so a night.

This one seems to attract snook off the beach.

Less is (sometimes) more...

The one that got away...

I spent last evening listening to the book "Unbroken" on CD that my wife picked up for me at the local public library.  There are only two things that I can do while listening to a book being read to me...driving is one, fly tying is another...and luckily I wasn't on the road.   I took a break from bonefish flies and settled in on some sz 18 and 16 midge larvae.

The deal was this...I got to bolt for the creek at 2:00 pm with no curfew.  I pulled up to my favorite spring creek at approx 2:30, tied on one of the fresh 18's and started working the run.  Nothing.  Nothing.  Nothing. Nothing.  It went on like that for awhile.

And then, something.

I set, it pulled and then it ran, downstream right past my feet.  It looked like a damn steelhead.  I saw instantly that I was hooked onto a 20+" broad stock bow.  I got the fish on the reel as it bolted downstream...headshake.
Still on.
Another head shake.
Still on.
And then it did one of those goofy hang down corkscrew moves.  Despite being extra ginger with the 6x, or, perhaps because of it...I was dealt a pile of slack and a hook full of nothing.

A few years back I hooked and landed a pair of these fat freaks in the same hole and despite being zoo animals, it still fires some prehistoric hunter/gatherer based synapse to hold a fish this large from a creek this small...here's a pic of what was, and what wasn't.

Circa 2005

Now, I rank broad stock bows just slightly above pellet fed tank fish.  And"above" if only because they are no longer surrounded by concrete and they have to start eating wild natural food stuffs.  But, I was irked.  20+ inches is still 20+ inches and I wanted to tilt it in the sun and get a big doughy dripping photo of it.

As of this writing I suspect it's still wallowing in the pool right below the pool where I hooked it...maybe it's wondering when the next batch of pellets is gonna drop, or maybe it's being just a tad more selective about what is and isn't a midge larvae.

I finally made it home at 8:15 this evening.  For my nearly 6 hours on the creek, I landed exactly one brown trout.  It might be that the 80 degree March weather has weirded out the fish as much as it has me.   Or, it might be that a freak hatchery fish beat me and knocked me off my game...I'll never tell.

Long lunch...

I got a call that the server at work was down so I decided to grab a rod and head to the little creek a few miles away for a long lunch.  2 hours of creeping and crawling on this nervous little creek resulted in numerous spooked browns and 1 little one brought to hand.  I think I may have to try this under the cover of darkness....

It was originally going to be a fishing day...

...but I decided to go to the nearest available trout water and bring my girls along for a day afield.
I got a few casts in and actually had a couple grabs before my attention was required and climbing trees became the mission of the day.  I carried the girls back and forth across the creek so that they could get to the choicest specimens for climbing.   What was planned as a 1-2 hour outing stretched into 4.  Good to see this generation touching dirt, getting scratched and walking on something other than concrete or carpet.  I swung a soft hackle on the way back to the car and brought a few beautiful fish to the net.
As far as fishing goes it was a bit distracted and forced....but we sure kicked ass on the trees.

Another early trout season arrives

40 Degrees all winter and now this?

...and this

...getting the skunk off my waders