The Woods
Standing at the edge of the woods, flowing water can be heard. I cut a path through briars and tree branches, avoiding the dense rhododendrons. Footing is uneasy as I travel down a slope wearing felt bottomed wading boots. Filtered sunlight guides my way. Dew splashes my face as I bend limbs and tip the leaves.
Sensory stimulation overwhelms day to day thoughts, now I am in the present tense. Stepping beside the stream I pause briefly to capture the moment. Rocks and boulders have been brushed to the sides, a bright blue sky with puffy clouds contrasts the greenery surrounding the water with white riffles. A distant turkey calls for a mate.
When approaching a stream, you instinctively choose the side that facilitates your casting motion. Eyes are on the water, the flow is most notable then the clarity. Also, any rising fish marked by surface circles emanating from “the take” of top water bugs. These clues determine which flies/nymphs are first to be used. The mind quickly reviews which size of fly and bead head and what pattern. Should I tie on a double nymph setup or a dry-dropper(dry fly top water with a dropper-bead head nymph trailing underwater).
After decades of top water dry fly fishing, I now favor tight line nymphing. An aggressive take on top water is thrilling but many more fish are feeding underwater where the bite can be subtle. The setup is a 10’ plus rod, the line called the “sighter” that fluoresces in the sunlight, then the tippet connecting to the fly. So, when one casts, first try to avoid the brush! Then keep your rod tip high. As the current catches your nymph, you will track the tight line sighter movement. Any deviation means a fish or submerged brush/rocks. With practice and adjustments for variables (how heavy a bead head), the take becomes second nature. No worries about being trigger happy though!
While traveling to the woods, most anglers have thought out a lineup of successful flies based on time of year and where the trout should be- for streams with pocket water: deep holes vs flowing water/riffles vs top water. My partner and I have shifted to smaller flies since fall weather has come. We also have to deal with more leaf litter in the streams. Sometimes bragging on who caught the biggest leaf!
We are geared up for the cold water and remind ourselves to be careful, no one wants to swim today. Strong steps with toes pointing to the flow and a slow pace. Many obstacles to avoid, including overhanging brush, mossy slippery rocks also walking forwards as you are reading the water and not looking down where you step.
As we start casting, several choice flows are present. I aim for the edge of the flow near the bubble line. The drift was good, my sighter was visible but no take. While moving up stream, the clicking noise of my partner’s reel sings out. Looks like a decent fish based on rod bend. Good to know that fish are present and biting.
I refocus on the flow and prioritize several areas. Soon I see a pause in the sighter and set the hook, no give or movement on the line- must have bottom. Carefully I step into the flow, little by little, and reach my hung nymph. Pulling up my sleeve to reach in the ice cold water, I release the fly by grabbing the underwater twig that holds the pheasant tail. Happy that the fly retrieval went well, I returned to the next fishing spot.
DANG! I hear the clicking again, another fish. I am happy for Ernst. Soon we have a brief conversation – “what is working?” Ernst replies” I have to double nymph rig on and they are hitting the lower blowtorch with silver bead”. Enough said, I clip off my pheasant tail and secure a blow torch to my 7X line with an improved clinch knot. I know that the double Davy knot is better but my fingers are not that nimble with the thread like line.
Ernst catches a third fish while I am regrouping. My mind responds with the zen logic of fishing. This is not about how many fish you catch, this is not about how big the fish are …Then a thought comes to my mind – Roger a master of trout fishing is laughing and says “ do you notice when we suck at fishing, we always shift to what a nice day it is and how great this environment is and think about those losers who are just sitting at home”
My next cast is good, the sighter is glistening, then a pause. Boom, a white flash and immediate tension. This is a good fish. As I position the fish toward the shallows, he/she disagrees and jumps out of water and is back in the main flow.
My mind shifts to “fish on” mode. Enjoying the power of the fish with no real hurry to land it. Finesse comes into play with a tiny barbless hook and thread like Tippett(7X). One must apply lateral pressure without breaking the line. The trout is guided out of the flow into calmer waters, at least this is the plan. The trout’s strength should not be underestimated. Proper line tension and give(drag) must be set before casting. When you feel the fish and see the flash of the white underbelly, you know whether “it’s a biggin”or “decent size” or occasionally when oversetting, the juvenile flies past you downstream.
With careful tension over a minute or two the trout is fatigued. I prepare to land the fish but it displays a burst of energy and fights upstream. Next with ongoing line pressure the rainbow floats back to me. My focus now is to release the fish with minimal out of water time and to not overly touch the fish and remove the protective oil from it’s skin.
Later after many casts and many fish, I am a little fatigued. Walking against the current while climbing over rocks for a distance requires breaks. As I rest, my keyhole focus on the stream changes as the door to the surroundings opens up. Some who view the wilderness see disorder. Trees leaning over, some fallen to the ground, others with dead limbs, vines climbing up the sides, pecked out holes etc. But what I see is perfect harmony. Seedlings growing in the rich soil that came from leaves and tree decay. Branches seeking out the sun to grow and manufacture oxygen. Nothing is haphazard, everything is in the right place.