Trip Report - 10-27-13

When it comes to fishing, I'm easily pleased. Like most anglers, I don't like to get skunked, but unlike many, I don't need to catch a lot of fish to have a good day. On Sunday, I caught one fish, a brown trout (probably a stockie) of just over 12". That made it a good day.

After taking care of some errands, I got to the stream a little before noon. Instead of starting where I normally do on the stream, I went straight to a spot where I had caught some of my largest fish (and not just for that stream, but largest tenkara-caught fish anywhere).

Nothing - at least nothing that couldn't have been a rock. When fishing wet flies, from time to time the fly just stops. Sometimes it's a rock or a stick and sometimes it's a fish. I try to fish a relatively tight line, keeping the line off the water to the extent possible. Any movement in the line that I didn't cause myself, or that wasn't obviously caused by the current or a little wave is treated as if it's a fish.

I try not to strike hard - aggressive strikes can break rods. I lift the rod tip, almost questioning "Are you a fish?" If it is a fish, I get a headshake. If it is a rock I get no movement at all. Sometimes, though, there's just a "bump" and then nothing. Some bumps are obviously fish - there is a brief pull and then nothing. Some bumps are indeterminate. Could be fish, but could be the fly catching on some moss that lets go when I tighten the line. 

Over the course of the afternoon, I got a few bumps but nothing I was sure was a fish.

One of the more questionable bumps came when I was fishing with what was initially intended to be a Stewart Red Spider. WC Stewart tied his Red Spider with yellow silk and a feather from the landrail (also called corn crake), which I don't think is available even in the UK anymore, let alone in the US. The feather I used for this fly was a covert from a bobwhite quail wing that one of my customers sent me. The hackle isn't landrail and the silk isn't yellow, so it clearly isn't a Stewart Red Spider.

It didn't catch any fish but it did catch a tree on an errant back cast, so  when I replace it I will use yellow silk to be at least a little closer to the original. (This is about as close as I come to being a one-fly angler. Sometimes I just tie one of a new pattern. One fly. When it's gone, it's gone - at least for that outing).

After a while I moved to a different spot and changed rods (I'm not a one-rod angler, either). If I think there is a good chance for a larger fish, I'll fish a rod I know can handle a larger fish. If I don't expect to catch anything over about 12" I'll fish a lighter rod that I like better. After the move I fished a Nissin Air Stage Hakubai 390, which I am coming to really like. (Of course, Nissin has discontinued them.)

Before I had sent it off to John Vetterli to fish side by side with his Oni rod (to see if I am the only one who thinks they are very similar) I fished the Air Stage 390 with size 2 and 1.5 lines. Sunday was pretty breezy and I fished a size 3. I've never been able to cast a size 3 line into the wind before. Nice rod.

I also switched to one of my last remaining Birds Nest flies that jd_smith used to tie. I'm not sure what it's supposed to represent. It seems to be a generic nymph not unlike a Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear. It does catch fish, though.

It caught the only fish of the day.

A 12" fish is not what I'd call a big fish, but the Air Stage 390 is not a big fish rod. A fish of this size is still a lot of fun and is well within the capabilities of the rod.

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