This morning’s trip was typical of my regular, 'get out of bed for a fish before work' style trip. The local Fraser River was my first stop, spotting a 2-3 lb brown feeding on nymphs in the back section of the first pool that I got to. The morning was warmer had been the norm over the previous two weeks, and a low covering of cloud was hopefully making for good spotting conditions, with out the usual brightening and frightening of fish at sunrise. This pool in particular has caused me plenty of trouble in the past, without much success as it is relatively shallow, and trout tend to spook very easily in shallow, narrow section of the stream. Wading gingerly into position, approx 5 meters downstream of the fish, I quickly ready my rod for it's first cast. Today was no exception, with my first false cast seeing the trout sinking into deeper water and moving off upstream. So much for the dull warm conditions helping me out!
With the limited time available, I had reached a pre-made decision earlier to inspect a pool that has been consistently holding good sized rainbows on the Twizel River, a few hundred meters away. There is nothing so pleasant as wandering across a grassy field early in the morning, alone with ones thoughts and a few rabbits, with the prospect of some clear water action while the rest of the world is still sleeping.
Upon arriving at this rather long pool, I worked my way from the lower section upstream, carefully inspecting every shadow and long boulder on the river bed. More often than not the trout seem to hold in the narrow head of this pool, close to a lot of overhanging willow for safety, however it would not be the first time if I spooked a fish in the lower section, sending him tearing upstream to it's neighbours and putting them all down for the morning. This time none were disturbed, and a likely candidate was spotted sheltering behind a boulder on the deep-edge of the channel, swaying in and out of the current as food was brought to its very doorstep. A size 14 bead-headed Pheasant Tail nymph had been getting most of my results recently, so I kept with convention, although this one was a much darker colour than my usual. I always get a buzz when the first cast on a trout results in a take, especially when the first cast on the last fish elicited nothing more than a walk to another pool! The heavy beaded nymph plopped into the river 1 1/2 meters upstream of the actively feeding rainbow, and about 1/2 a meter further into the main flow. Almost immediately he swung out from the shelter of his rock, and intercepted the fly that was rapidly exiting his area of engagement. As the fish turned to face up stream I assumed the take had been successful, and tightened the line. A solid hook up was established. The trout was landed following a series of three runs downstream, where I finally managed to keep a fish in the same pool that I hooked it in. On one occasion he came close to the rapids at the bottom of the pool, but thankfully choose to charge upstream again as things got marginal. As trout in our area go he wasn't in great condition, so quickly returned him to the water after removing the fly with one of those fandangled hook remover things. With a smug grin I hightailed home before the kids got up, reflecting on how lucky we are to live in a place where great fishing can be had without having to travel more than a couple of kilometres from town.
With the limited time available, I had reached a pre-made decision earlier to inspect a pool that has been consistently holding good sized rainbows on the Twizel River, a few hundred meters away. There is nothing so pleasant as wandering across a grassy field early in the morning, alone with ones thoughts and a few rabbits, with the prospect of some clear water action while the rest of the world is still sleeping.
Upon arriving at this rather long pool, I worked my way from the lower section upstream, carefully inspecting every shadow and long boulder on the river bed. More often than not the trout seem to hold in the narrow head of this pool, close to a lot of overhanging willow for safety, however it would not be the first time if I spooked a fish in the lower section, sending him tearing upstream to it's neighbours and putting them all down for the morning. This time none were disturbed, and a likely candidate was spotted sheltering behind a boulder on the deep-edge of the channel, swaying in and out of the current as food was brought to its very doorstep. A size 14 bead-headed Pheasant Tail nymph had been getting most of my results recently, so I kept with convention, although this one was a much darker colour than my usual. I always get a buzz when the first cast on a trout results in a take, especially when the first cast on the last fish elicited nothing more than a walk to another pool! The heavy beaded nymph plopped into the river 1 1/2 meters upstream of the actively feeding rainbow, and about 1/2 a meter further into the main flow. Almost immediately he swung out from the shelter of his rock, and intercepted the fly that was rapidly exiting his area of engagement. As the fish turned to face up stream I assumed the take had been successful, and tightened the line. A solid hook up was established. The trout was landed following a series of three runs downstream, where I finally managed to keep a fish in the same pool that I hooked it in. On one occasion he came close to the rapids at the bottom of the pool, but thankfully choose to charge upstream again as things got marginal. As trout in our area go he wasn't in great condition, so quickly returned him to the water after removing the fly with one of those fandangled hook remover things. With a smug grin I hightailed home before the kids got up, reflecting on how lucky we are to live in a place where great fishing can be had without having to travel more than a couple of kilometres from town.
