I've been chasing SRC since mid August in the lower Stilly almost every
morning before work. I don't have a lot of time so I can't cover a lot of
water. Some days I'm on them and some days I'm not. I've hit a few around
Cicero but I would concentrate on the lower river until we get some rain.
In the N.F. the bigger SRC seem to hold in the current and avoid the frog
water when the water levels are so low.
Monday before work I took a few casts in the frog water by Cicero. As I
was stripping in my large yellow spider a fairly large fish slowly came up
from the bottom and inhaled the fly. I thought "oh my god, its a huge
cutthroat....at least 25 inches.....I've finally got Moby cutthroat".
After a short and very poor fight I landed the first coho of the season.
The search for Moby continues.
Tuesday morning I fished below Silvana. There were humpies marching
upstream in schools of 10-15 constantly. I broke down and flinged a pink
woolley bugger at them. Before I go on any further I will tell you that
the fly line on my 4wt is old and cracking. I had been meaning to buy a
new one for a long time. Anyway, first cast at the salmon and fish on. It
makes a good run and I've got probably 35 feet of line off my reel, I
decide its time to put some pressure on the fish and yep you guessed it,
my fly line broke and the the fish made off with 35 feet of line. The
remaining line probably would not cast well but I was not to be stopped. I
restrung my rod and as I pulled the line through the guides and was going
to tie up a new leader I heard that unmistakable dull crack of breaking
graphite. I broke the tip off my rod. OK, now I was done.
When I got back to my truck and heard the news on the radio of the attack
my broken gear seemed a million miles away and insignificant. I now await
the arrival of my new fly line via Cabelas.
Thursday I felt like fishing again and went down with my 5wt to the Hwy. 9
bridge. The humpies were everywhere. The gear guys were just hammering
them on drift gear and spoons. I can't buy a fish in a hour of trying. The
river was literally alive with rolling fish and every once in awhile I
would see a big patch of the surface ripple like a ball of herring. Very
cool. It will be nice once the humpy mania is over though and all these
fishermen return to where ever it is they come from. I have to say that
the gear fishermen I spoke with were all very nice and every one was
having fun. I even saw a guy who just last week was gear fishing at Cicero
and I told him it was illegal. He thanked me for telling him.
Well, I gotta run. I've just been informed that there is a package waiting
for me at the front desk that looks like a fishing rod. Good thing I told
them to ship it UPS ground!
God bless America!
Sincerely,
Keith
