Gathering of the Clan

Back in October, I was out with a friend fishing the upper reaches of the major tributary of a local river. We were in luck that it was a nice day with little wind unlike last year (The Season From Hell). We spotted a fish soon after getting to the river andI got first go. Several drifts without success and the fish decided to sulk. There was another smaller fish just upstream and my friend hooked it on his second drift. Back down to where my fish was and then below that. It wasn’t that big and we agreed it was probably foul hooked. Sure enough when the 4 pounder was in the net, it had thrown the hook but was unlucky to have it hang up in its body.

We fished for several hours sighting a few but not having any further success. It didn’t matter that it was early in the season, those big browns were tough. At one point we were crossing the river when my friend went down and found that his waders would leak in the big hole at the top. While he dried off I looked upstream and found a fish feeding on the far side. I returned to wait for him to get sorted and then waded across. snuck up behind the fish, dropped a good cast only to blow the strike and have it scoot off.

By now we are approaching the end of our day and hoping for another opportunity. We got it on a hole with two fish feeding. We were getting ready to fish for the downstream fish when it moved up parallel to the other one but on the far side. It was my turn so I started casting to the fish closest to our side of the river. It took several drifts and a couple of changes of fly but it finally took. LIFT! YIKES!! it took off like it had a bottle rocket up its nether regions. I have no idea how I got it stopped before it went shooting down out of the hole. As it was the rest of the struggle took place at the edge of the outflow. I was concentrating so hard on handling the fish that all I kew was it was a good one but when it finally went into the net I was flabbergasted at how fat it was. It has to be the best conditioned brown I have ever landed. The numbers proved it. Only 58 cm (23”) long, it weighed 7 pounds!.



Then we saw just how beautiful it was with iridescent blue on its cheeks



and even many of its scales winked electric blue.



It was an honour to return it to the water.



The other fish? Oh yeah, my friend caught it and showed me how to properly handle a big fish. His was 65 cm and 8 pounds. A very good fish but even though mine weighed less, he said it was the better fish.

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Fly fishing is NOT a hobby

Love those fish. Many of the Browns we catch here in Oregon have some electric blue in various parts of their body. Just make them look grander!

Thanks for tormenting those of us housebound in cold weather...but stoically looking forward to the warmer days in 2018 to catch trout one quarter the size of those NZ trout. Fortunately, I did get the chance to land a 9 lb. brown and a 7 lb. rainbow in NZ (South Island)...That's a whole world away, and the powers-that-be, and the land-owners, guides and fishers in NZ take care of the many fine rivers. Pristine, clean, clear and inhabited by healthy trout. We saw no littering in any of the waters... not a single cigarette butt.

Bux

No game wardens either since nobody caught JD using bait to take that big brown.

Schush! The New Zealand authorities have long arms...then again, I'd be more than happy to testify as to the accuracy of the charge. (I don't suppose they'd send me a ticket to testify in person???)
Bux