Yesterday and this morning I got out fishing with my buddy Sean. As we neared the end of yesterdays trip Sean hooked into a nice trout. He was standing over an undercut bank and the fish, a well educated trout no doubt, pulled Sean directly into the undercut snapping his line. Sean asked me how to fight a fish in that circumstance and I responded with something like, "well sometimes the fishes gonna win." A few short casts later and I found myself in the same situation.
To the left side of the stream there is a plunge pool (just upstream out of sight) and a deep undercut. Weeds choke the stream but there are a few good lanes to drift a fly through. I landed a few dinks before hooking into something substantial. This fish pulled my line deep under the bank. I could do very little to slow his progress so I leaned over the stream, placed my rod tip in the water, and tried to turn him. I kept my line from catching the rock and wood on the undercut. Eventually I was able to steer him out and Sean took the first opportunity he saw to net the beast!
While we didn't lay a tape on this guy he must've been at least 18 inches. I'd venture to say he may have been the biggest fish in this section of stream. I was shaking with excitement and after a few shots he was returned to the drink.
Sean and I watched him recover for a minute or so before he disappeared into a clump of weeds. At this point Sean said, "so that's how you do it." He headed upstream to the next undercut and last spot of the day. He made a few fruitless casts before his indicator dipped beneath the surface. Sean set the hook and a decent trout swam directly into the undercut. Sean played that fish perfectly and I plunged the net under the slimy bastard before he could thwart our efforts. Sean's a quick study! That fish became his personal best brownie.
Today things were a little slower. We got out a little late, put in a little less footwork, but still landed well over a dozen between the two of us. Parsnip was everywhere and conditions were tough on this small spring creek. Sean landed a decent trout from this pool after threading the needle with a perfect cast. As we approached I spotted a trout of at least 16 or 17 inches chasing smaller trout from his spot under the crescent shaped clump of watercress pictured in the middle right of this photo.
It may be a bit before I get out fishing again due to work, family, and fly tying/rod building obligations, but stay tuned-you never know!
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