This afternoon I had an absolutely delightful time on Big Elk Creek. ( More about that on the Fishing Reports Forum. )
On the way in, a couple fellows overtook me. As they passed by, I noted the accents, but that was all. A little further up the trail, I caught up with them as they took a break. This time I recognized the accent, and the man. Simon Gawesworth. After I reintroduced myself to Simon, he introduced me to his companion. Peter Morris of Blue Hills, Australia.
If the names don’t ring a bell, Simon is one of the better known spey casters and spey casting instructors in the area ( that area would be the world ). He works for Rio in Idaho Falls. Peter is a Sage representative in Australia, visiting Idaho for the first time, hoping to catch his first cutthroat. If I caught his comments correctly, he does some writing for various magazines on occasion.
Simon had not been on Big Elk previously, so as we went along I gave him and Peter some information on places to fish and what to expect over the course of the day. Believe me, that was quite an honor. At the place I normally take a break, Simon and Peter went on to find places to fish.
Fast forward about an hour. I had fished a pool for a while and landed five cutts on a prince nymph before sticking the fly in a tree root at streamside and breaking it off. When I turned around, here came Peter, with a big smile on his face. He had caught three nice cutts just downstream of where I was fishing.
By this time, the hatch was on, and there were a number of fish rising in the pool I had been nymphing. I invited Peter to take the pool and see what he could do. He had a hopper pattern on and drew refusals from eight or ten cutts. He was going nuts seeing so many fish and not hooking any.
While he was thinking about what fly to put on, I tried one that he had gotten from Jimmy this morning, that he loaned to me. Several casts on the seam to the inside edge of the pool produced a couple refusals and then a 14" cutt. I suggested to Peter that he put on that fly and have at it.
About the time Peter was ready to fish, Simon joined us, having come downstream from the Narrows to find Peter. Peter was casting to a big fish which was consistently rising only inches from the far bank. It was here that the Sage in his blood started to show. A real master with a fly rod. His casting was beautiful and flawless - more like dance than fly casting. I just stood there and watched, amazed at what he could do with a fly rod.
Well, after several casts over that big fish -
We knew it was a good size fish before it took the fly. Didn’t know how big. Simon went to the ready with the net.
And within minutes, the big cutthroat was in the net - 12" plus on one side and 8" on the other.
As soon as I saw the fish clearly, it hit me - this was the same fish I had caught here about ten days ago. Same pool, same take, same size, same coloring, especially the belly, a distinctive pink left over from spawning mode. ( The picture below is from 9-9-08. )
Heh Mate - it’s a small world. Two guys from worlds apart just happen into the same space on a given day, share some conversation and some water, and then - the same fish. Can it get any better than that ??
John
P.S. I don’t think I’ve been called “mate” as many times in my life as I was in the few minutes after Peter landed that cutt. Reminded me of a couple guys who post here once in a while. Right, Jeff ?? Right, Mike ??
