surfnfish
10-02-2009, 07:30 PM
Set up my river skiff in tidewater this morning, just below the hole with an incoming tide, parked next to one of the truly fine fly fishers on the coast.
Tied on a pattern I copied of his, started shooting intermediate head casts with my new Deer Creek Switch 11'0 9 wt.
Third cast, tied into an enormous salmon...took me downstream a hundred yards, back upstream two hundred yards, past the fly guru who was cheering me on, rod bent in half the entire time, Orvis Mach VI reel screaming out huge bursts of backing during the runs, steering with the motor tiller between my legs while I reeled like a madman to recover line.
And so it went for the next 50 mins later, chasing his ass all over the river, getting a couple of incredulous looks at him the when he surfaced briefly alongside the boat, and just when I thought I was getting to him and was planning on easing him over to the bank where I could get out and beach him (he would never have fit in my net), the beast made yet another frantic burst, found a snag on the bottom of the middle of the river and broke me off.
I met my white whale....and he just kicked my ass!
Tied on a pattern I copied of his, started shooting intermediate head casts with my new Deer Creek Switch 11'0 9 wt.
Third cast, tied into an enormous salmon...took me downstream a hundred yards, back upstream two hundred yards, past the fly guru who was cheering me on, rod bent in half the entire time, Orvis Mach VI reel screaming out huge bursts of backing during the runs, steering with the motor tiller between my legs while I reeled like a madman to recover line.
And so it went for the next 50 mins later, chasing his ass all over the river, getting a couple of incredulous looks at him the when he surfaced briefly alongside the boat, and just when I thought I was getting to him and was planning on easing him over to the bank where I could get out and beach him (he would never have fit in my net), the beast made yet another frantic burst, found a snag on the bottom of the middle of the river and broke me off.
I met my white whale....and he just kicked my ass!