Rest Day

by Kris F
(Billings, MT)

I decided to take a day “off” after last weekend’s golden trout trip and my upcoming 5 day trip in a couple days. I took my new Zerosum 400 7:3 and the Tenryu to a new piece of water that I’ve been eyeballing on google earth. I’ve fished two forks of this creek independently, but realized there was an easy access where the two come together. In fact, I’ve been driving past the access point for many years on my way to various lakes, creeks, and trailheads.

The water was a little off color, but the level and temperature were conducive to some comfortable wading. It only took a couple casts before my zerosum had it’s first fish. I proceeded to have fast action whether tightlining the runs, swinging a wet fly, or delicate fly first casting to soft spots along the bank. After catching “many” in the best looking spot and feeling I was a little outgunned for the 6-12” fish, I switched to my Tenryu to fish the head of the run.

Although this last section didn’t look particularly fishy, I immediately hooked into something significantly bigger than what I had been catching over the last hour. I couldn’t help looking up and admiring the graceful bend of the shiny Tenryu as the nice brown hunkered down in the current seam. It was a bit of a standoff, but fortunately the fish stayed facing upstream and the current helped supplement the side pressure I was applying. Eventually I started inching him over into the softer water and got him into the net.

I ended up netting a handful of nice browns from the exact same spot, along with a couple others that got off....one that took me downstream and another that threw the hook during a nice leap. At one point, I was releasing the best brown of the day, while pinching the rod between my legs. Before I had let go of the fish, there was another solid brown tugging on my Tenryu as the fly had been dangling in the current. It was that good!

It’s only the second time I’ve tried the Tenryu and it’s already one of my favorites. It’s beautiful, wonderfully light, and unbelievably smooth. It’s by far the most full flex of all of my rods and perhaps I’ve found the one that matches my natural stroke. I can also say that I was impressed by the capability of the rod after a couple of the fish I brought in through the current. I may have been more inclined to stay with the stiffer zerosum had I known what was hiding in the depths, but it’s good for a novice like me to get a feel for what these rods can handle.

All in all, it was a wonderful Sunday morning. Warm sunshine, no mosquitoes, new rods, cooperative fish, and a braided creek all to myself.

“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten” - Benjamin Franklin

"Be sure in casting, that your fly fall first into the water, for if the line fall first, it scares or frightens the fish..." -
Col. Robert Venables 1662

As age slows my pace, I will become more like the heron.