Another Full Day At The River
Darrel managed some more nice brookies today.
After the excitement of yesterday’s trout opener I was more than ready to hit the water again today and see what we might come up with.
The day started with a short burst of rain as we headed to a river with a pool holding some large brown trout. With Jack leading the way we crept up to the bank with big, juicy worms dangling on our hooks. The water level had risen and it was harder than yesterday to find a steady spot on the bank. We each cast our worms in and let them drift down with the current. And waited. And waited. And waited some more. Do you sense a pattern? I am an impatient person and fishing with a worm tends to bore me. I would much rather be casting, covering water and changing my lure. It wasn’t long before I took off the worm hook.
I switched over to a tiny Rapala that had provoked some hits in the same pool yesterday. On my second cast I had a good-sized brown come out and hit it, but I pulled the hooks away too soon and never got another look.
With our first location coming up empty (but giving us a wonderful time on the water nonetheless) we moved on to another river where we knew a hatch was going on and we could try out the fly rods.
A rustling in the grass revealed this little creature.
The pool we chose to hit is above a water fall and always a prime location for brook trout. We took a few minutes to watch the river and picked out three areas with active fish. Unfortunately, I know nothing about flies and although I did my best to match the hatch I couldn’t seem to get it quite right. I have a lot to learn. My fly casting leaves a lot to be desired but as this was my first real outing using the fly rod I decided to cut myself a break and just be happy when my fly landed in the area I was aiming for. Keeping my wrist locked produced a better cast but it was really hard to remember that each time.
I had a couple of brookies rise on my fly but no bites. The fish were more spooked than normal thanks to the intense fishing pressure over the previous 36 hours. The situation wasn’t helped by another angler who insisted on walking along the bank, making a lot of noise and casting right at my fly. Darrell and I weren’t exactly pleased with this person and when it became obvious he wasn’t going to leave we decided to move on.
All-in-all it was great to get out with the fly rod and really experience fly fishing for the first time. I can’t wait to do more fly fishing and I hope to find the time (and the finances) to have a lesson and get a solid foundation with the fly rod.
We finished our fishing time in the river out back. Yet again it was a day for spinners. The water was still high and fast but it didn’t take long before I hooked into a small brookie on a silver Mepps Aglia. I had another few hits and follows but again, Darrell’s ability to adjust to the situation allowed him to hook into another few brook trout and a little atlantic salmon.
Jack likes to supervise the release of each fish.
It turned out to be an incredible trout opener. We spent the majority of the weekend on the water and it was a pleasure to take in the sights and sounds once again.
We’ll give the fish a break for a few days and let them recover from the shock of opener. With the forecast of rain for the next three or four days we will have plenty of time to sort our tackle and replenish the stock of spinners that were depleted thanks to a few snags.
I hope everyone was able to make it out this weekend. There’s nothing like time on the water!
argosgirl
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I am with you on fishing with worms. I would rather be casting and retrieving, trying to locate fish, too. Spinners seem to do the trick quite often. Bravo, to you for getting out and trying fly fishing. When I first started I was happy if my fly hit the water at all when casting! Tee hee.
Now that you mention it, there were more than a few times the fly didn’t hit the water…I managed to hook my inseam and my thumb, as well as a few trees 🙂
Tx a lot R for the pic of the snake. And I thought it was still too early.
V.
LOL I was going to email that pic to you just to let you know that time had arrived and you should be on guard!
I hooked my thumb (past the barb) for the first time in my life a couple of weeks ago. Hope it was the last! Great blog!
I hope you manage to keep the hooks out of yourself and get them into fish 🙂 Thanks for visiting!