Very NICE Byard! Don't you just love fishing those small flys? The trout that I sent you a pic of was also taken on a Trico. I had to cast over marsh grass to get the fly to the back eddy he was feeding in. That fish is my most memorable.
Bob H ----- Original Message ----- From: "Byard Miller" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, July 25, 2002 12:36 AM Subject: [VFB] Trout on a Trico... > >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>
