I received a
call the other night from my friend that has the private lake, he asked me how
my knee was doing after having surgery on the 27th of last month.
I said. It’s was doing well and that I had already
went bac to work on the first and had gone to physical therapy twice.
“So do you
think you’re up to doing some fishing yet?” Was his next question. “I know you
start getting a little cranky if you don’t get in the water much.”
“I was
planning on going down to meet up with one of my Buddies from the Wetside to
fish Rat Lake again this will probably be his last trip over the hump before
winter set in.”
“Well why
don’t you tye me up a few more of the crawdad flies and maybe bring over something
you think will work this time of year, you and your Bud and give the pond a
try, nobody has fish it since you maybe a month ago.”
“I’ll find
out want he wants to do and whip you up some dads and thinkin that maybe some
Drunkin-dragons would work bout now and I’ll see you on Saturday morning
weather we fish there or head out somewhere else.”
After I hung up I headed back to the bench and whip up some
Crawdaddys and look up my recipe for my Drunkin-dragon twisted up a ½ dozen of
each and a extra six pac for myself.
Jeff showed up on Friday and he and RB hit
Rat again, I had things to do, some work to finish up and another trip to the
therapist for the knee not the head. (I’ll get that therapy on the water) Later
that nite RB texted me and said they were having beers and thinking about going
back to Rat. Would let me know in the AM. RB did tell me that he caught 15 nice
Bows on his last Disco Dolly Parton (DDP) and he needed more.
Saturday
morning 8:30 am, just pulled into my friends and got the text from RB, Jeff’s
dad pass away and he headed back to the Wetside.
So I fished
the pond alone. With eyes watching me from the house.
Under gray
skies very little wind if any at all at times. Before I even got the boat
completely ready I watched a couple of rises and quickly put the Sage One
together, put on a sz. 12 elk hair Caddis and gave it a fling it hit the water
and the swirl and gone tight line and first fish a tank of a Bow. By the time I
got it landed and released the sky was starting to drip. I hurried up and
finished getting the boat ready and into the water. By the time I was ready the
clouds got thinner and I took off my rain jacket and put on my hoody.
With 3 rods
rigged up one dri, with elkhair caddis. My fast sink, with a DDP and a ol
friend from out of the closet my good old Lamiglas 6wt, strung up with a line I
had forgotten all about my Cortland 444 intermitted camo, with a
Drunkin-dragon. Great line for pulling fish out of the weeds.
I started
out with the Drunkin-dragon, out off the launch about 40 ft and pitching bac at
it into 5 ft of water let it sink, but before it got close to the bottom the
strike and heavy pull heading for the deep water and digging down and into the
backing. 10 to 15 minutes later I got my first look at it a nice Tiger. It
fought hard and when it saw the net it took off again almost busting loose.
Finally into the net. What a hogg!!
Check the
fly, check the knots and back into the water, staying close to shore and
pitching up close to the weed and reeds four or five cast later another take
this one ran for the sticks and I was able to move around and pull it out,
Beautiful Brown was soon in the net.
I
repositioned myself and while doing so watched deep back into the weeds a
couple of rises. Switched over to my dri line with the Caddis and gave it a
fling it hit the water, I gave it a twitch and slurp it was gone and my rod was
bowed with a monster Bow. This brut almost took me to my backing but turned and
came rite bac at me, never getting it on the reel, but in the net. With a pile
of line on my stripping apron setting the net with a floppy fish really makes a
mess of things.
I got it all untangled and changed back to my
intermittent line and gave it a fling again. Soon it was another Brown taking
my dragon and tugging on my line.
I hadn’t
even made it to the first turn and already had four fish. Not counting the one from shore. The sky
open up for a short while and the wind also did both came and went pretty quick
and back to calm and gray. The water temp has cooled off quite a bit since I
was last here down to 47-48 and the water level has risen up about a foot.
Hiding some of the shoreline weeds. I made it to the corner and pushed out into
deeper water of about 16 ft. dropped anchor and worked the corner with the dri
line for a while until the lite rain started again. When I decided I really
should have my rain coat with me. the truck isn’t that far better go get it. I
put away the driline and grabbed the Boobie line and gave it a fling I waited
till it went under water and gave it a fast strip once twice three times a charm
and BAM fish on. Up and out of the water boobie hanging out of its mouth and my
rod flipping around this fish was full of action for the few leaps it made. To the left to the right and away it goes knots and fly holding tight.
Another Bow in the net.
I’m starting
to feel the moisture coming through the hoody and on my shoulders, better hurry
up and get to shore and the rain coat. (dumb ass should of took it with me in
the first place) I bee lined it bac to the truck pulled off the wet hoody and
tee shirt. Put on my flannel shirt and rain jacket and headed bac out fast. Almost
a rerepeat with the Dragon but this time it was Brown, Brown, Brown until
something felt different the way it took off not going deep or coming out of
the water this fish just stopped and stayed down, thinking I lost it in the
thick weeds, but I could still feel the head shake now and then, it must of got
me around a branch in the water and hung up I stripped out about 4ft of line
gave it some slack and felt it move. Bingo all rested up and on the move again.
Slow hard pull out into deep water, readjust drag then the turn heading back
into the shoreline weeds. I lifted the rod to the left and put on the breaks
slowly a couple of strips and now I’ve got it under control and heading towards
me. staying down not letting me see it until I could see my leader a monster
Brookie. I dipped the net deep and missed then again this time up and under it.
WOW nice fish he was hooked deep in the side of the mouth and I needed my hemos
to free the hook. Grand Slam all four fish in under an hour and a half. This
doesn’t happen very often not here or anywhere.
The rain quite and became just a lite drizzle
off and on more, off then on, my fish finder batteries went dead, but didn’t
need it anyway I know the water temp and pretty much how deep it is stayed
close to the shoreline working all three lines off and on for a while each did
make it all the way around the lake by 1:30. Back close to the launch I decided
to make one more pass just to the corner and back before heading out, by then I
had caught 6 fish on my caddis 1 being a Brown, two more Tigers on the Dragon
and a bunch of Browns and a few more Bows, serval Bows on the DDP but had only
caught that one Brookie. Gotta try one more trip out to the corner and back for
a Double Grand Slam. I had my best luck with the Intermittent line in 4-8 ft of
water, so I looked inside at my fly boxes and found one of Bill Olgalvie’s
shedge patterns that worked great for the Brookies up at Lost Lake so I tyed it
on and gave it a fling out into the deep water a few times, nothing shallow
water again nothing, made the turn to head back to the launch and pitched up
into the reeds or just short, let it sink and with a really slow retrieve. Half
way back BOOM the take a big splash up and out of the water YES YES another
Brookie. Then nothing, lost, strip in check the fly,……….then Bam fish on again,
the game begins again 5 or 6 minutes later I grab the net and pull in another
Brookie. Double Grand Slam, I am Blessed. Thank you very much. What a great day
one that I will remember for a while. O I’m sure some of the detail will be
lost like some of the other fish I lost today yes every fish I hooked didn’t
make it to the net some were LDR for those of you that don’t know (long descent
release) I lost a couple of flies to fish maybe a bad knot, maybe a tooth
nicked leader/tippit. |
| Tiger |
 |
| Brookie |
 |
| Fat Bow |
 |
| the Brown |
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