You can teach an old dog new tricks!

The alarm went off at 6am and I rolled out of bed to go fishing. My wife awoke also. She was going in early so I had to take Anna to school. I was a little pissed because I want to get out before the sun got out. Family is first and second in my life so fishing had to wait until after I dropped off my daughter at High School. It was still cloudy when I dropped her off so I was still fired up about fishing.

I arrived on stream at 8:34am. The clouds had ALL disappeared and it was a robin’s egg blue morning. The reason I wanted to fish today was because we had some decent rain yesterday and I assumed the waterway I was targeting would have a little stain. It was gin clear and extremely low. My best laid plans were all messed up.

The waterway is kinda small with a rocky bottom with a little sediment on the corners. I figured I would work the rapids and any deep water. The trout were having no part of it. They were really spooky because of the sun and gin clear water. I decided some long casts were order. My first cast was a little short and to the right. It was 6 inches off the bank. I cussed the bad cast and reeled in the cast quickly. To my wonderment there was a huge wake following the spinner. I slowed down my retrieve and the trout stopped following.

I looked at where the trout came out from as I walk by. The stream was 5 feet wide and maybe 7 inches deep in the center. What was noteworthy was there were obvious tapered deeper section tight to shore that went back under the grass a ways. It didn’t look terribly deep so I dismissed it as an anomaly.

It was about 11am and the fishing really sucked. I was about to leave and decided to change up where I was targeting. The deep areas and ripples were not producing fish. I have always fished the non-sunny side of streams before. Trout don’t have eye lids so they serious dislike direct sunlight. I decided to ignore the deeper area and try those tapered section that I have ignored most of my life.

It was 2pm and I exited my stretch of water. Until 11am I had caught 5 trout. From 11am until 2pm I targeted only the shallow tapered sides of the bank with a little current in them with weeds hanging over the edge and I caught 18 browns. Of those 18 browns the smallest was 14. A couple were 18 and one must have went 19 inches.

Part of the reason I left at 2pm was my old superstition of losing or landing a 20 inch trout and the day is over. I cast in one of tapered weedy stream edges and was about to lift my spinner out of the water when a 22-23 male brown in full spawning colors appeared from the shallow lip right in front of me and slammed my panther martin. There I was with a huge trout on in 6 inches of water and it wasn’t tired and I had out only maybe 6 feet of line. The trout got up on its tail in the shallows and threw the spinner before I could think twice.

As I drove home I thought about what had happened and how unusual it was. I lots of times refuse to fish on sunny days and midday because of the sun. I also thought I should have taken a photo of the areas I was getting hits in. I used a spinner for this but a non-weighted woolly bugger could do the same.

Bright sunlight….gin clear water…catching and losing huge trout in 6 inches of water…simply amazing.

Len,

I always enjoy the story and photos that go with your report.
Mike

Thanks for the insight!

FDR

I typically fish upstream. I park my SUV at the bottom of my fishing water and walk back to it after fishing. I have met many a country folk on the way back to the vehicle. I usually chit chat a little with the friendly folks along the way on my some time long walk back to my vehicle.

Today was a long day for me fishing. I was in a good mood because of all of my luck and success on stream. I was slowly working my way back to my start when I came upon a house I had spoken to in the past. I remember the folks as a large Mennonite family.

Dad was in the yard working on the driveway and there were four little ones running around the yards. All were fair- haired . Three little girls in long dresses. Their ages I guess ranged from 3 to 6 years old. There was one little boy I guess at 7 years old. The minute I started talking to their dad they all came to see what we were talking about.

They were all very quiet and respectful as we two adults talked. Dad asked me if I caught any fish and I told him about my luck. All of the children looked at each other simultaneously and their eyes were as big as saucers and they had huge smiles. Dad saw their reactions and said: “I have been promising them that I would take them fishing. I even bought a rod and reel but we haven’t found the time.”

The father asked me the laws on him tying on lures and hooks for his kids. I gave him the run down on the trout regulations. The father had never been fishing before and didn’t know how to clean trout. That was my cue to speak up. I had two nice browns in my creel. I asked the crew if they wanted to learn how to clean trout?

We went in to the yard and opened my creel by the outdoor spigot. The kids were excited but quiet when they saw the two 18 inch trout I had in there. Dad was amazed that the stream right out his front door held such big trout. I got out my scissors from my vest . I was going to show dad how to clean a trout. I went step by step slowly. The dad told his kids to get close and watch how to clean trout because if he was taking them fishing they needed to know how to clean them.

It was like deja vu for me. I flashed back to when I was five years old and cleaned my first trout. I was surrounded by my 5 sisters as I completed the task. These young ones were so quiet and respectful it was like going back in time. There was no screaming or pushing and I was certain they had no hand held computer nonsense. Outside entertained them just like it did me and my sisters.

I took out the other trout and looked at his kids and asked: “Which of you are going to clean this trout?” There was not screaming about who was going to do it. The eldest of the four stepped up and cleaned that trout just as good as I did.

I looked at dad and asked if they would like a couple of freshly cleaned trout? He responded right away with a yes. I told him how to prepare them. All three of the little fair-haired girls were captivated with my directions. The father told me the girls had already had cooking lessons from their mother.

The dad thanked me and off I walked. Two minutes later I saw him pull up with his vehicle and he offered me a ride to my auto. We talked on the way and I told him a couple places in the area that his kids could catch some trout easily. Before dad could leave I gave him 4 panther martins for each of his kids and some size 8 eagle claws and some split shots. Five new anglers were born today. Four young ones and one dad.

Len, really cool story, even better photos. Captivating read, keep ’em coming.

Len, It just doesn’t get any better then that!