Got a call from a friend yesterday looking to start 2012 off right...and who am I to not take that opportunity!?! The alarm went off this morning and I was off to the river to see about a fish.
The river was still far to high to wade, so since Pat has a Claka we had one luxurious ride for our fish chasing mission. One quick car spot and we were on the water and looking to get on the board in the new year.
Part way through the first stretch we had a player and I was in the game on day one of 2012! Not a massive fishbut so great to get this year off to a good start.
In a few spots we beached the boat to stretch our legs a bit and dissect a few bends on foot.
This fish was a mid-teens fish that was all fired up to hammer the fly. This fish came in a small slot that we moved a few fish out of and saw something really cool. My first cast through I set hard on a flash and was hooked up to a little guy...who proceeded to be chased around by an absolute upper twenties hog of a male. That male chased this poor little fish around, slashed at him a few time, and rolled him before sinking out of sight after 30 or 40 seconds. It is awe inspiring to see these predators absolutely homed in on their prey to the exclusino of everything else going on around them!
For being a mid-teens fish this guy was vicious looking. Extremely well developed jaw and sqaured off upper means this guys will be around for a while. I hope I run in to him on down the line again...
One long float, fifteen degree temperature drop, on and off rain, fish to hand...not too shabby. Figured the only way to finish it off right was with a tasty Yueng.-mike schmidt
www.anglerschoiceflies.com
Nice! Jealous!! Good way to bring in the new year!
ReplyDeleteJH