Earlier in the trip, I mentioned (bemoaned) breaking both of the 4 wt rods that we brought. One was my fault for sure and the other was simply circumstances. So be it. I wound up with a 6wt rod in my hands thanks to borrowing a line from our friend Serge. He had also lent a 4 wt, but it’s a 7 footer and I`m a wee bit too fussy about these things, so I’m back to the 6 wt Helios. Again, 6 wts are not my favorite rods. But, you cast what you have and that’s what I have right now. After breaking her 4 wt, AJ isn’t letting me on the 5wt, it’s hers and fair enough. Keep the 6 wt in mind, on hold a minute as I get through this.
Last summer, home in Alberta, I wrote about a 30+” brown I caught. I didn’t go looking for it, it just happened in a random blessing. It was the first and only 30+” I've caught in Alberta. I don’t expect to repeat it as I don’t plan to hunt those size of fish using what is typically needed to be successful on those types of Alberta trophy brown trout waters. There are more of them in Alberta than most people realize, but it was a one off for me. It was nice, but it was a fish. In the post, I also spoke of chasing monster browns, like the sea runners in Argentina, or the mouse year monsters here in NZ. I mentioned that the last thing I was going to do is chase big browns just to say I caught one, to pump my tires. I simply don’t care enough to be seen in photos with big fish. In fact, last year we avoided waters in New Zealand where mice were making the browns huge because we didn’t want to run into the trophy hunters. Sure, we caught our share of very nice fish on our trip last year but it was just by circumstances of it being a mouse year and the perpetual rains keeping those fish in the small streams we reverted to in our successful attempts to have water to ourselves daily. It does not matter how big fish are, it’s the moments on the water that are important. It’s the enjoyment of where you are fishing, how you are fishing, who you are with, and whether you are really into what you are doing, among so many other factors. Size is way down the list for us.
But you can’t stop fate.
This week, all has been wonderful for AJ and I. Her desire to fish a beech forest lined water for a nice brown in a clear run led us to a new river. She had an amazing day earlier in the week on the river new to us, and we gave it a rest for several days before returning. This last visit was of very warm, sunny weather with little wind. The cicadas were electric. We had to raise our voices to hear each other talk for the buzzing and clicking of thousands of cicadas. And these were the huge cicadas – the size of your thumb. We walked to the river and emerged from the beech forest beside a run. AJ was behind me and I had to tell her to walk around, through the bush. A large brown held 2 feet off shore. She did as planned and popped the large dry 4 feet above the fish. WHAM! 6 pounds. I’ll cut the epic day story telling by saying we landed 5 browns 6 to 8.5 pounds in the first 50 yards of river. All SMASHING the surface prior to us casting. All smashing cicadas. I spent much of my day casting a 2 dry fly set up... 2 large cicada patterns. Heck, I was using a big 6wt stick, so why not?! We worked our way upstream and had a whale of a day. To say the least.
By 6 pm, we’d had a great day, the shade now creeping onto a few runs. We came up to a large flat where there had to be a nice fish. AJ walked one side and I the other. As fates had it, I spotted a nice fish cruising around on my side. Trouble is that it was unsettled, moving all through the run. It covered 30 yards of my side, hit the center of the run and dropped down, then down and back in, then across and up. Each time, I tried to cast where I thought it was going. They were good casts, just that the fish would turn the opposite direction from what I anticipated. I’d seen this fish from a distance back and it had already been on the cruise, so I knew I hadn’t spooked it. It was just unsettled. AJ kept rolling the video for some reason and caught me as I tried a long up and cross stream cast.
Part of not liking 6 wt rods is the temptation to make long casts rather than move into position to get the ‘right’ cast, which is always the best option. But, it was a long way around and nipple deep crossing, so I tried to get my flies to where the fish had moved to. It stationed at a log at the top of a run for 20 seconds. With a 4 wt rod, there was no chance I was punching two large dries 75 or 80 feet to the fish. Good thing I ‘chose’ to use the 6! Right! So, there I was, casting to a nice fish at 75 or 80 feet with double dries. AJ kept rolling on the vid. I still don’t know why as the odds kept getting worse as the fish kept moving. But where it stationed, I was able to get one cast 4 feet to its left, then I muffed a cast, then my third landed the flies 3 feet to its right, the line well away from the fish. And wouldn’t you know it... the fish turned and came to take. When it took, it looked about 6 pounds. As it ran under the logs across the river, it felt maybe 8. As it came across to me I figured about 8. Then I simply couldn’t move it in slack current and started thinking a touch higher, before it started to go downstream, then across and up, and up, and up...
Again, I have to reiterate... I don't care if I am ever photographed holding a large trout. As I said to AJ after I released this one... I thought one of her fish earlier in the day in an intimate pocket of water was so much more enjoyable, and that almost every other fish of the day was far prettier. All the other fish of the day honestly had far more enjoyable qualities to it. But, this is the one that most people that read this blog... this will leave the biggest impression. Again, it’s just a fish. Albeit, kind of a big one.
My net scale bottoms out at 14 pounds and kind of sticks. This fish took me there. Was it 13 or 15 pounds... I don’t know, nor much care but it was a biggie. Let’s call it 14 and leave it alone.
It’s funny how things and perspectives change. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll use the 6 wt a little more often. Anyone ever notice how a 6wt tosses 2 big cicadas better than a 4wt and lands the fish that eat huge bugs just a little easier?
;)
Oh, and I didn’t turn to AJ and ask her to hold my fish so I could get a photo of her with a big fish (see previous post for sarcasm reference).
:)
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