FishFearMe
05-27-2010, 05:50 PM
Well Spring finally caught up to us here in the frozen tundra and with it came an end to my cabin fever. As yesterday was Victoria day here in Canada and the last day of the long weekend I decided to try my hand at a bit of flyfishing on the world renouned Bow river. I had a few new toys to try out as well, thanks to my mom and my wife. My wife had given me a new fly rod/reel combo for Christmas(killed me I had to wait months for the thaw) and my Mom had sent me a birthday card with a check in it which I used to buy a set of chest waders and boots. I also recently started tying a few flies...still fairly inept though at both the tying and the flyrod.
I made my way down to a spot on the Bow where I had seen a fellow catch 4 or 5 respectable rainbows in the span of about an hour. I tried several store-bought flies with no success whatsoever. I did manage however not to get swept away in the swift current. Hurrah for little victories! After becoming somewhat discouraged and getting ready to leave I decided to wade down a bit to another shallow adjoining some deeper slower water. I had no sooner gotten there than I both saw and heard fish rising all around me. I saw the bugs that were flying around and only had one in my arsenal that even remotely resembled them. It didnt take long for one to attack it. After several jumps by a truly large fish I lost it. I assumed that because my fly was barbless(as required by law here) that it had spit the hook. Upon inspection though I realized that the fish had instead gotten off afer somewhat STRAIGHTENING my hook. Well having no more of that type I resolved to using my pliers and bending my hook back into shape. Having survived the first encounter suffering nothing more than a mild heart attack I decided to try again. SAME DAMN RESULTS.....fish on, fish off, hook ruined. :(
In a last ditch effort I decided to try a winged ant that I had tied myself (the only flies I have made moderately well to date and damn few of em at that). On my fourth cast I was into another biggie. After about ten minutes or so of give and take...mostly give on my part and take on hers, I started gaining ground. I worked my way back to shallow water and was able to land her. She was much bigger than my net but I centered it on her and let gravity do the rest. Thanks Newton...not the fig guy either. I got a good look at her once I managed to swallow my heart back down and realized I had caught the Mother of All Browns (M.O.A.B). I tried to get a measurement as well as a few pictures but was very difficult to do as I was alone standing in the river trying to juggle my rod,the fish, my tape measure and my cell fone/camera. The closest measurement I got was over 21 inches but with the fish being bent and the ruler beng straight I guessed it in the neighborhood of 24 inches or so. After that I was able to get a clean release on her unharmed...making both of us happy.
Either way I dont know for sure how big it was and dont really even care...it put a hell of a bend in my rod and a smile on my face. And good Lord willing and creek dont rise I may get another dance with her yet.
Thanks again to my mom and my wife for making this possible...love ya both!:)
I made my way down to a spot on the Bow where I had seen a fellow catch 4 or 5 respectable rainbows in the span of about an hour. I tried several store-bought flies with no success whatsoever. I did manage however not to get swept away in the swift current. Hurrah for little victories! After becoming somewhat discouraged and getting ready to leave I decided to wade down a bit to another shallow adjoining some deeper slower water. I had no sooner gotten there than I both saw and heard fish rising all around me. I saw the bugs that were flying around and only had one in my arsenal that even remotely resembled them. It didnt take long for one to attack it. After several jumps by a truly large fish I lost it. I assumed that because my fly was barbless(as required by law here) that it had spit the hook. Upon inspection though I realized that the fish had instead gotten off afer somewhat STRAIGHTENING my hook. Well having no more of that type I resolved to using my pliers and bending my hook back into shape. Having survived the first encounter suffering nothing more than a mild heart attack I decided to try again. SAME DAMN RESULTS.....fish on, fish off, hook ruined. :(
In a last ditch effort I decided to try a winged ant that I had tied myself (the only flies I have made moderately well to date and damn few of em at that). On my fourth cast I was into another biggie. After about ten minutes or so of give and take...mostly give on my part and take on hers, I started gaining ground. I worked my way back to shallow water and was able to land her. She was much bigger than my net but I centered it on her and let gravity do the rest. Thanks Newton...not the fig guy either. I got a good look at her once I managed to swallow my heart back down and realized I had caught the Mother of All Browns (M.O.A.B). I tried to get a measurement as well as a few pictures but was very difficult to do as I was alone standing in the river trying to juggle my rod,the fish, my tape measure and my cell fone/camera. The closest measurement I got was over 21 inches but with the fish being bent and the ruler beng straight I guessed it in the neighborhood of 24 inches or so. After that I was able to get a clean release on her unharmed...making both of us happy.
Either way I dont know for sure how big it was and dont really even care...it put a hell of a bend in my rod and a smile on my face. And good Lord willing and creek dont rise I may get another dance with her yet.
Thanks again to my mom and my wife for making this possible...love ya both!:)