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I met an amazing fish on my vacation recently. I was
fishing Cheesman canyon, which is becoming my home away
from home water. The water was high so I was focusing on
fishing some of the holding water closer to the bank and
working back downstream. Looking down from the trail I could
see several fish holding in a nice big eddy behind a huge
boulder.
With great stealth I brought my all too large figure down
the hill hugging the boulder and slipped into the water near
the top of the eddy (as in silent not stumbled). As I moved
into a position I could cast from I managed to spook a few
of the closer fish. I was loaded with a brass assed emerger
and a SJ worm dropper with some pinch on weight and a white
yarn and O ring indicator... but I'm pretty sure I was still
fly fishing. I decided to let the lower end of the eddy calm
down a bit so I flipped this rig up next to the boulder and
let it drift into the seam. Instantly the reel started to
scream and instantly it stopped and now I was loaded with
SQUAT... and a white yarn and O ring indicator.
Tying on two new flies really gave the eddy a chance to get
used to my presence and I started drifting the new rig through
the bottom of the eddy and back up towards my legs. The fish
were unimpressed. Then a respectable sized bow slid right past
me and held on the bottom not 4 feet from my feet. So I gave
him a look at my impressive hardware set up; but he was so
close the indicator was suspended about 10 inches above the
water. As I drifted to him he came off of his holding position
and casually yet purposefully came to the surface and then
came out of the water and got a hold of my indicator 10 inches
free of the water. He let go of it and returned to his lie.
This is not the first time I have seen totally new fish behavior
in these waters and I'm sure it won't be the last. I gave him
another drift but this time I left the indicator on the water
and again he calmly came up and hit it. Well I tell ya I went
to college and I've read lots of fine books on fishing so I
reached deep into my vault of analytical thought and decided
it was time to put on a size 12 stimulator with a big white
wing...genius huh.
So I cut off and stowed the halibut rig and tied on a stimi
I refer to as the blind man stimi; with a wing of antelope
rump, suitable for fishing on a moonless night in a deep
anyon with sunglasses on. First drift and he came right
up and slammed it we had a good fight with several leaps
and one trip out into the big water; and I got him to the
net. He was about 16 inches and I felt it was a fish worthy
of taking coup. So I set my camera down on the bank and took
the IR remote. The barbless stimi came out easily and I was
getting positioned for the photo op when I noticed leader
in his gill plate still. Well I must have wrapped my line
on him when I was getting the fly out. So I grabbed the
leader and freed it from the gill plate and noticed it
ooked like about the 0x section. Odd I thought and looked
over at my rod and line and saw my fly sitting right there
next to the bank leader and all; so I returned my attention
to the fish and leader. Following the line I discovered it
went straight down and disappeared into his gullet. So
I snipped it off at his lips at least reducing the amount
he would have to eat.
Here we go ready for the picture; as I get prepared to lift
him for the camera I notice that his left eye socket is empty
and healed over. So being the ever sensitive and compassionate
person I am; I turned him around so he could see the camera
for the picture. Then off he swam...'ol one eye laughing in
the face of hooking mortality rates.
A week later I was fishing with someone I met on VFS and I
came to the same eddy and slipped in once again and sight
fished to a few shadows in the deep. A few drifts into it
a fish broke from his hold and hit my SJ Worm. We had a
nice battle and I got him to the net. Oh yea you bet it's
'ol one eye. I took a shot of him in the net on his bad side,
just to satisfy my guilt for hiding his affliction the last
time and sent him on his way. The guy keeps holding in a back
eddy with his eyeless side towards the bank... some fish never
learn! Now a fish like this ain't pretty and it's very hard
to wax poetically about him; but he sure gave me lots of food
for thought. Thoughts of hooking/handling mortality rates,
blue ribbon fishing pressure, fishing with my father in the
past (he too is blind now) and the possibility that the
department of tourism stocked him there just so us visitors
would have a chance at a fish.
I enjoy the tranquility of rivers and the discipline of fly
fishing as an art form; but above all else I love the
chaos. It's the truest representation of life as a whole.
~ Paul Dieter
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