>Well, sometime when you have the time, it would be nice to hear the story >behind it. I'm sure with that gear that its got to be a good one!
John... It's actually kind of a cool story... The Tricos had only started a few days previously, but the fish had most definitely keyed in on them as they had no interest in any other offerings. It really surprised me as the hatch was not yet heavy and in the five days that I was there the hatch times were very inconsistent. This pool is one of my favorites on this stream...a small portion of riffles enters and holds many of the smaller trout. The main flow runs along a deep cut bank that has a large downed tree in the center of the pool. If you try to picture it...this is a large pool...near football field length. The flow is rather slow after the riffle section, but has these nasty little eddies over on the far bank were the good fish lie. The pool is fairly deep...uncrossable. I was fishing a 9 foot 4wt Sage that can cast a heck of a line...tight loop...and accurate. The problem was that to reach the far bank you had to wade chest deep...I was wading wet so I could get in a bit farther than with waders, but it was a real challenge to reach the far bank. The fish were rising all the way out into mid current, but it was obvious to me by the rise forms that the larger trout were hugging the distant shoreline. I had already lost a few nice ones over there to the submerged branches in days past. When I saw the large white jaws leisurely vacuuming the surface of its spent Tricos...my heart skipped a beat. The problem was that she was just inches from the far shore. But this was my last shot as we were heading for new waters within the hour. I waded in as deep as I could...just inches from my armpits (chest pack bobbing on the surface). I knew I had only one shot but needed to test my capabilities. I tried a test cast downstream towards the bank...full power...with a final double haul. Yep...it can be done. I paused for a moment to think...I'm a side armed caster which can really play havoc with accuracy on the other than my normal distance casts. But I figured what the heck...you can't teach old dogs new tricks. I centered myself...started laying out the cast...had the direction correct...and hauled it. Perfection!!...twelve inches from the far shoreline...two feet above the rise form. Because of my side arm casting the tiny trico hung in the back eddies just long enough for that trout to take. A gentle lift and she was attached. She ran upstream...she ran down...she ran deep rubbing the bottom, but, I finally brought her to hand. Gently lifting her from the water I removed the tiny fly from her jaw and laid her against the fly rod for a measurement before allowing her to return to her favorite feeding lane. The real treat was knowing that these fish are all stream raised...maybe not considered natives...but they are stocked as fry and to reach the size of this beauty they must endure many years in the stream. Later in the week I had an opportunity to fish for wild browns in icy cold waters...but that's another story. keep tyin'...byard Byard Miller Line's End Inc <http://www.linesend.com> Virtual Flybox <http://www.virtualflybox.com>
