It was one of those perfect mid-April days, with air-temps approaching 60 degrees. The warming sun and a nice breeze felt pleasant and kept the casting interesting at times. I was fly fishing with a buddy that I enjoy fishing with but don’t get a chance to that often and this was one of those last minute, “Why don’t you go fishing” type excursions. Of course, this wasn’t April, it was mid-march and even though the snow was mostly gone, there were some patches around which kept the water a chilly 37 degrees. The early black stones were making an appearance in the warm sun and they skittered about caddis-like and crawled down the back of our necks. I dropped a flash-back #14 stone off a bugger, pinched 2 splits onto the leader and started a slow swing through the pool at the bottom of the dam. Half way down, everything stopped and I tightened up the line expecting the slight hesitation I had been getting from the grassy spots on the sandy bottom but this was different. The rod bounced slightly and came to a stop. “Fish?” I asked myself…Bounce Bounce…Yes! Fish On! The line in my fingers slid out through the guides and my reel came to life. “Fish!” I yelled “Big Fish!” Visions of rumored Landlocked Salmon flashed through my head as I know the river holds some but I had never seen them, and the fish surged upstream. Now after a brief struggle he gave in and started to come to hand. I caught a glimpse of color and the flash was a dark butter color…”Nice Brown” I called upstream at my bud. He didn’t start towards me because of “The Picture Jinks” and I slid the 16 incher onto the sand bar. After a quick picture, he was gone. The only fish of the day, my biggest brown from the river ever…What a great day!
Book
- Alaska
- Guide & Fisherman
- Guiding: Choosing Your Guide And Choosing Your Customer
- Guiding: Do It Yourself With A Guide
- Guiding: Evolution Of A Guide
- Guiding: Freshwater, More Than Meets The Eye
- Guiding: Friends For Life
- Guiding: Know Where You Are
- Guiding: More Than Just A Fisherman
- Guiding: Mystery Of The Fisherman
- Guiding: Payment
- Guiding: Saltwater, A Different World
- Rough Fish
- Fly Fishing For Rough Fish: Why Do It?
- Introduced Rough Fish: The Carps & Other Invasive Species
- Methodology: Gear & Tactics For Pursuing Roughfish On A Fly
- More Roughfish: Bullheads, Whitefish, Goldeye, Burbot & Drum
- Rough Fish Environments: Where To Look For Rough Fish?
- Rough Fish Species: The Suckers
- Rough fish: A Lifetime Of Learning
- Rough Fish: Fishing For Dinosaurs (Gars & Bowfin)
- Rough Fish: What Are They?
- The Hook: Some Common Rough Fish Fly Patterns
- Spey
- Spey: Applications, Where Can You Do It?
- Spey: Atlantic Salmon, A Significant Fish
- Spey: Defined And Demystified
- Spey: Gear, The Nuts And Bolts
- Spey: Lines, They Are That Important
- Spey: Steelhead, New Traditions & A Modern Movement
- Spey: The Energy
- Spey: The Flies
- Spey: The Swing
- Spey: Two Critical Casts
- Striped Bass
- Striped Bass: Fishing Rocky Shorelines
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Beaches
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Flats
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Reefs
- Striped Bass: Fishing Tidal Rivers
- Striped Bass: Flatwing Swing
- Striped Bass: Fly Line Options & Choices
- Striped Bass: Gear, The Nuts & Bolts
- Striped Bass: Migration Patterns
- Striped Bass: What They Eat
- The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: A Natural Drug
- Fly Fishing: A Validation Of Freedom
- Fly Fishing: Don’t Fight The Current
- Fly Fishing: It Is What It Is
- Fly Fishing: Socialization For Asocial Individuals
- Fly Fishing: The Allure Of The Fish
- Fly Fishing: The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: The Simplicity Of It All
- Fly Fishing: Time Flies
- Fly Fishing: Times You Remember & Try To Forget
Shaq:
Wow, that’s a nice fish. I can relate! It makes the numb toes worth it. When it’s only one fish, it sure feels good when it’s a “best ever”
It’s kinda funny, though… the Steel guys hook up and they thinks it a rock. We hook up and we think its grass!
Is the uncertainty because it has been so long since we’ve had a fish on… or are the fish just less convincing in the cold?
David, I thought it was grass because I had hooked 2 clumps of it already.
Pretty logical, I guess; but not very poetic!
Sorry about my neglecting the obvious!
Shaq, where you in Plattsburgh or farther down Rt. 9 by a bridge?
-Chris
they love them in maine too i guess… hooked a couple today on stones and they were crawling around on shore a bit (the stones, not the brown trout) —
Ausable, was a bit further south on route 9, like 120 miles