Thanks REE. I will try those. I think I even have a pack of them. I know I tried them out for some nymphs and I had no problems. Today, still using my TMC 2488's I had a different problem. I straightened two hooks on consecutive fish. They were nice fish too. Big fish story to follow.Originally Posted by Ron Eagle Elk
So here is today's report sans pics. I hesitate to even post sometimes when I don't get pics of my outing because I feel like I am just rambling on, but I guess if you want to read it you will and if not feel free to skip it.
I headed out for a short outing as things have been busy at work. The roads are slick as a snow storm over the weekend dumped about 8 inches of show in places and that canyon keeps pretty shaded so the road is a sheet of ice still. I took my time and was glad when I noticed a couple rises in one of my favorite runs that is lower down on the river. It helped eliminate a lot of slow driving. I pulled off and geared up, but by the time I was ready to hit the water the rises had really slowed down.
I was worried I may have missed the hottest action but continued down to the river anyway. The flat was long and shallow and the water was crystal clear so wading up to the fish was a slow process, making sure not to cast much of a wake. By the time I got in position I gathered enough info from the rises I was seeing to tell that there were just two fish working about 15 feet apart at the bottleneck at the top of this flat. The rises were sporadic. Three or four minutes would pass with nothing then each fish would rise 4 or 5 times in succession. I stripped out the line I thought I would need and waited for one of the heads to show. Time slows something fierce when you are waiting for a rising fish to show up again.
I almost started to wonder if I hadn't spooked them from their lie when a subtle ring appeared 25 feet in front of me. I quickly loaded my rod and fired a cast that landed a bit short of where I was hoping it would. The small fly was impossible to see, yet almost as soon as it lit on the water I saw another rise just about where I thought it landed. I set the hook on nothing. The fly pulled up and looked like it had in deed been a couple inches away from where the feed had been. Worried again that I may have spooked this fish I settled in and waited for something to show. Sure enough a couple minutes later another rise a bit to the left, but at the same time the other fish across the narrow channel and also in easy casting range also showed himself.
I made a snap decision to cast to that fish and give the other one a bit more time to forget about my snafu and settle into a groove. My fly landed perfectly about 5 feet in front of the growing ring of the previous rise and I knew this would be a good drift. As the fly closed the gap the fish rose again about 2 feet from my fly. It was going to float right over the fish. I tensed anticipating the slurp but I got taught a lesson. No big slurp on this take. My fly simply disappeared. Not even a ripple. At first I thought it had maybe just sunk in the film, then a couple seconds late I finally just brought the rod tip up. More on instinct than actually thinking the fish took it. Sure enough I felt the hard tug of a big brown doing back flips under the water. He fought doggedly, and pulled hard, and I worked him hard trying to keep him away from the other fish that had been rising to his left.
I managed to do this but as I brought the fish in close and got my first look at a very nice Brown I had the sickening feeling of a rod recoiling and sudden slack. A quick examination of the hook revealed it had straightened out on me. While bummed I chose to put it behind me and focus on the other nice fish that had again settled into a steady rhythm straight upstream from me.
I quickly tied on a new fly, same pattern, just as the fish ended another midges escape attempts with a gulp. The cast fell nicely above the feed and just like clockwork the big nose rose from the depths, engulfing the tiny fly. I set the hook and for the second time in minutes felt the heavy pressure of a big fish trying to roll it's way to freedom. Again the fight lasted long enough for me to get a good view of a fish that was nearly the firsts twin when it came to size, then sudden slack. Another look at the new hook revealed it too was straightened.
Bad batch of hooks, or me putting to much pressure on a big fish, I don't know but it was at the same time thrilling and disappointing. I will be trying this pattern on a new hook though real soon. The pattern is money, the hooks, not so much. Til next time.
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