big flies ~ big fish

We'd gotten to the river around 10 AM and Rick waded upstream. I stayed in my usual spot since there were a couple others on the river. Soon another fisherman came in downstream from me, not close, but a good distance away so as not to crowd. He was close enough that I heard him say to me, "the crane flies look like hummingbirds!" and I thought that was a good observation. I hadn't really seen many fish in the hour we'd been there, but I kept after it, hoping for a fish to smack the fly. I was fishing with a crane fly on a truly barbless hook, not a hook that had been crimped. Totally smooth, giving the fish a good chance to get off if I hooked one.

I moved upriver a few feet and kept looking for a rising fish, but saw nothing. Tossing the big crane fly causes my tippet to get twisted into knots. Every few minutes I have to stop to unwind the line and make sure the line is not knotted. I had finished out my tippet section with 5X, but decided to remove it and re-attach the fly to the 4X.

Although I didn't see fish rising on the surface, I knew where the fish should be holding. Not to be a know-it-all, but I've seen the river at low water (no water) and I know where the rocks are, where the deep holes are and the unseen snags. I've fished the river for years now and I can read this short section of the river. I was scanning left and right for a fish, but all I saw were crane flies - acting like hummingbirds.

Out of the corner of my eye, just upstream, I saw the smooth water swirl from underneath. There was no splash, it didn't disturb the surface. I knew it wasn't a swirl caused by an underwater snag. I knew it was a fish. It was in the current or feeding lane, a foam line and I turned slightly towards the swirl. There is a huge snag there, a natural place for fish to hang out and catch bugs floating by. I needed to cast upstream of the fish and avoid getting hung up on the snag. I gently tossed the big crane fly upstream of the swirl and to the near side of the current and let it float. Nothing. As it ended the drift I retrieved it and cast again, this time letting it float in the middle of the current. No false casting, just picked it up and laid it down. The big fly floated over the area and again nothing. I carefully gathered the line at the end of the drift and for a third time placed the fly at the far side of the current, getting it upstream of where I thought the swirl was, but not on the overhanging branches. Immediately the fly was gone, taken in a big slurp by a fish. No big cannonball splash, it just disappeared and my line flew to the right. I tightened up the slack by hand, getting the line on the reel and the line streaked off to the left. Then it stopped. I knew the fish had run underneath the big underwater snag. Then the fish came out of the water, jumped into the air giving me a view of it's broad side and I could see how big it was!!! And there was no further movement. The line was hung or twisted on the branches underwater.

What to do? I had the line tight on the reel and could feel the fish was still on the hook. I looked upstream and saw that Rick was watching me. He was quite a distance away and I motioned for him to bring our big boat net. In the meantime (this all happened within seconds, but seemed like many minutes) I was wondering if I should take a chance and give it slack or pull it tighter. I knew how big the fish was, or so I thought, and knew I couldn't give it slack. This sometimes works, but I thought not this time. I gently pulled the line tighter, just a little, and the fish was un-snagged and swimming downstream like a mad fish!

I think it was as I hooked the fish that the guy next to me asked, "Madam, may I take your picture?" What? Yeah, I guess so. You want to what? I was too busy trying to keep the fish on the hook that I thought "What? Where's he from? Is seeing a woman fish something new?" But he was a nice guy, very polite, and I said "yes" concentrating on my fish and he went off somewhere. I was concerned about this fish and as Rick arrived I said "It's big and this may be a fish that I have to chase downstream." I made my way to shore, backing in from the middle of the river and the other fisherman returned with a camera. The fisherman with the camera said to Rick "I asked your wife if I could take her photo. Is that alright with you?" Rick said yes. I wondered who this guy was because he was so polite and when I glanced at him I could see he was serious. His camera was big, with a very big lens. This guy was really wanting to take some serious photos. Now I just needed to bring the fish to the net.

(continued)