Fishing with a Gallery
I went to Belknap Springs Resort this weekend for a family gathering. Now, I have a certain reputation in the family as a fishing nut. I was looking forward to a serious assault on the McKenzie, which I have seldom fished despite having grown up near Eugene (many years ago). However, my two flyfishing nephews, who were going to show me their secret places, were unable to attend. And the Saturday night dinner, for which I was providing the barbecued tuna (see recent post on the Salty Dawgs), was going to run late and probably not be done until nearly 8 p.m., so my evening fishing options were going to be very limited.
Earlier in the day I had chatted with another fly angler on the pedestrian bridge at the resort and we were able to spot a fish below the bridge that was probably 14" long. So when the dinner was finally done and darkness was beginning to fall I strung my rod and dropped down to the riverbank right under the bridge, confident there was at least one nice fish there. When I looked up at the bridge, there were about 8 of my brothers, in-laws and nephews ready to watch "Uncle Jimmy" catch a fish.
There were no rising fish and no bugs on the water, but I tied on a McKenzie Special and cast it into the prime spot. And cast and cast and cast, with no response. So much for the signature fly of the McKenzie River.
I have been tying flies for a trip to Idaho and a recommended pattern was Madam X. So I tied on one of those and added a 3' dropper with an anonymous nymph (bead head, with long biots, like a Prince Nymph, but cream instead of white, and with a very heavy copper wire wrap).
The pressure was on, with the gallery getting restless. On about the second drift the dry fly went under and I raised the rod tip and felt a solid tug on the nymph. There was still enough light to see that 14" fish flashing in the crystal clear water, but it came loose after about a minute. At least I had some credibility because the gallery had all seen the fish, too.
I changed patterns while there was still light to see the tippet and tied on a hot-butt #12 Elk Hair Caddis, with a smaller nymph on the dropper. The dry fly was drifting right against the current seam when a nice big rainbow rolled at the fly and missed. I moaned aloud and the gallery groaned, but the fish came back on the next cast and got hooked.
The 3 lb. tippet wasn't enough to horse the fish back into the slower water and I had to chase it downstream as it left the pool. It held in the faster water and I eventually worked it into a small piece of slack water under some trees. The gallery had also run downstream and was calling encouragement from the bank above. I wet my hands and lifted the fish from the water for a photo shot through the tree branches (haven't received it yet from the uncle who shot it), unhooked the fly and returned the fish to the river. My ODFW brother-in-law guessed the fish was 16"-17", which sounds about right. Of course, since I released it it is continuing to grow. By now it is probably something under 20". Eventually, in the lore passed down through the generations in my family, it will probably be something under 24" and take its rightful place alongside the trout caught in the McKenzie by cousin Vicki on a safety pin over fifty years ago, at an earlier family gathering at Belknap Springs.
TC
__________________
I may not be catching fish, but the ones I'm not catching are BIG!
|
AndyK
Linear Mode
