My phone rings at 6am Sunday morning. It’s Jeremy. “Boz lets fly fish some local water, you in?” Twenty minutes later we were on the road towards my favorite local river which had just seen some heavy rains days before. We sipped hot coffee and caught up on tales of fish hooked and lost this summer as we made our way out of Portland, Maine. We both agreed that it would be nice to enjoy a laid back day on the water and still have time to enjoy the afternoon at home with friends and family.We arrived at the first pool and rigged up. We covered every corner and crease of the pool with various nymphs and streamers and saw a few fish roll, but they were not falling for our usual tricks. We agreed that these fish had seen flies recently and set out for a new spot down the road.The deep slick we arrived at looked like just the ticket, and we set out to work the run hard. Twenty minutes of casting with no Sign of fish and I smacked my fly on the water in frustration. Then I saw a swirl! Strip, strip stop. A big male Landlocked Salmon came charging up through the whiskey-like water and nailed my fly! “Fish on” I shouted as the Salmon danced across the pool running and leaping to throw the fly. A beautiful male Landlocked Salmon came to hand and was released back to the run.Jeremy congratulated me on a fine fish and I told him how I smacked the fly down on the water. We spoke of the territorial nature of these Salmon as they prepare to spawn, and concluded that a Sunday Smack-down approach should piss them off enough to get them to take our flies. Boy were we right!Five minutes later it worked again, only this fish was different. I smacked the bright fall soft hackle streamer down as hard as I could disobeying years of soft subtle presentation tactics. Again a long torpedo-like shadow burst through the water in anger. Twitch, twich and Slam! There she was and even bigger than the last fish! I began foolishly horsing the fish toward shore, when Jeremy arrived at side. “Easy Boz! This one is a monster!” He was right! Until that fish slashed across the pool I hadn’t completely grasped the size and beauty of this fish. Her runs slowed down so I figured she had tired out and began to work toward shallow water. She went ballistic! Thrashing and leaping out of control, I put the pressure on and she responded with a series of powerful drag slipping thrusts from her tail. She fought recklessly near the end, until finally tiring out, I tailed her. I held her up for a quick photo and before I thought Jeremy had the shot she sprung from my hands! I dove hard, face first trying to regain my grip but she was gone. I was soaked and bloody knuckled from the rocks before me. The fish was gone.Even though I had dropped the ball Jeremy hadn’t. He got a few good photos before she slipped away. For which I was grateful, as this was by far the best fish I’d ever landed on this River.Thank you Jeremy!Later that day we met up with my wife and some good friends. My buddy Jim assured me that that fish should’ve been his. And my wife just smiled when she heard the story and said I earned it, knowing how many days this river has kicked my butt. My wife said, “Savor it.”
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
Boz .. what a great day .. it was going pretty slow until we started smacking those flies on the water .. needless to say that certainly got their attention .. then the amazing motion of those soft hackle streamers sealed the deal .. we “rang the dinner bell” and then served up something they couldn’t resist .. those flies you tie are amazing .. i will be “cooking up” some of those this winter … what a great, great fish … wild, big and strong and right down the road from our house … i might go “smack a few around” today with Finn .. different river though .. I think you are up North today bird dogging for us tomorrow … drop me a line and give me a report and I’ll see you in the am.. great fish boz..
Great story. It is a good reminder for all passionate flyfishermen that there IS big fish to catch in local waters, too. A salmon like the one Boz caught will be waiting for the rest of us for next season. Meanwhile, during the winter months, stack up on flies and good fishing stories and be ready once spring arrives!
Great video, Jeremy!
“Wife”
Amelia — took me a second to comprehend who was writing … i thought to myself, “jeeze boz, not sure if it was necessary to tell yourself that it was a great story and fish .. but whatever..” THEN i realized it was you writing and you must be logged in as boz.. made much more sense that way …
nice fly fishing with you and boz the other day … even though i had to leave early ..boz told me you hooked a few .. nice work …. tell boz to give me a shout email or cell … did he go up north today?
Boz, what an unbelievable fish! I can’t believe my eyes!! This is, well, the best salmon I have seen caught in maine!!! Congrats buddy
Austin
Jeremy,
Sorry about that, I probably should have signed the post more clearly.
Yes, he did go up today would be delighted to see you (and other friends) up there as well. According to the latest report, the water conditions are good and the weather…windy… but when has that stopped a fishermen :).
-Emilia, Boz’s wife
great fish!! THose would be killer steelhead patterns too. Tell us more…A pic of the fly close-up please?
That is one serious fishery you guys have at your disposal up there. Good to see you out there taking advantage of it! The action on the fall soft hackle was insane.
Hey Shaq. The soft hackel streamer is a Jack Gartside original. He is out of Boston and probably best known for his striper flies ( The Gurgler). It is a great pattern that is easy to tie, minimalististic, and has incredible movement. Basically a marabou plume palmered around the hook with a soft hackle collar ( I like wooduck). It would definetly slay steel.
Keith
That’s what I thought, That is how I tie my marabou speys. Tie it on a 14 footer and it’s a spey. Tie it on a single hander, it;’s a streamer!! haha.,
bring some of those when you come. IN purple, pink, black orange and white. oh, and chartruese,
Keith,
thanks for giving Shaq the info…I’ve been up north fishing.
Shaq,
Jack Gartside revolutionized streamer patterns with this style of fly. I’ve found nothing close for movement in the water…amazing.
Great on steelhead too.
Thanks for the comment.
As I recall the best Brookie I’ve seen caught in Maine was posted her on fliesandfins and it was in your hands!
It was good seeing fishing with you again.
Send me your contact info soon so we can plan to tie flies sometime.
We are lucky to have some prime water just outside our door. We only have one week left for the “extended season” fisheries here in Maine…then its time to chase some steel!
I’ll bring some of those soft hackles when I come to NY…
Jeremey,
Again another fine video. Thanks for getting some good shots. I’m sure I’ll gave at the phots for hours after a long winter sets in…
Good spending sometime on the water with you and Austin next time I see you we’ll probably be chasing Steel.
til then…