Well, I got in very early and went down the lake for a listen on Matahina. It is not exactly the easiest place in the world to hunt nor are there many deer. But I kind of like the place since I spend so much time fishing there every season. The cool thing is when the hunt ends, I can put my rod together and try to salvage the day by catching a couple of trout.
It was mid day by the time I finished poking around the cliff sides around the lake. The river was dirty again from the recent down pour but fishable, I guess. The spring creek above the bridge was crystal clear, as usual. I spotted some trout and put my rod together.
I selected a gold ribbed hare's ear wee wet fly and nailed a rainbow on the first cast. Then I put on a Greenwell's glory wee wet fly. I figured the trout may have been a bit spooked since I had just pulled a trout out of the same spot. Sure enough, several fish ignored the fly altogether. I was about to change up when another rainbow struck, tick.
Then I wanted to catch a trout on our new cicada pattern. We were talking the 23 of March and the latest I ever remember catching a trout on a cicada was like the first week of March. I do not remember hearing or seeing any after that time. Nevertheless, there were a few singing. I reckoned that photoperiod is not the only determinant of a cicada's life cycle. I think they also get a determinant number of chirps to make. Of course, they make noise during the day when it is warm. We had such a cool and wet summer that they have not had time burn out. So there you go with some pretzel logic.
So I put on the deer hair cicada black with rubber legs. I wanted a darker deer hair cicada pattern because I mostly see darker cicadas around our area. And, of course, rubber legs add life to any fly. It was sort of a cross between our deer hair cicada olive and our black foam cicada, which are both extremely effective.
I proceeded to scare fish away up the spring creek. None of the browns I spotted seemed to be feeding. You might notice from the video of two browns cruising back and forth and literally ignoring the flies. I suspect it was a jack following a hen around waiting for her to start dropping eggs. I have suspected for years that some of the browns around here just do their thing without making a redd. In the spring creek it is weed lined with a soft bottom so they really have no other choices.
So defeated, I went back out to the main river and was about to head out when I saw the rise. I paddled into position but it is very difficult without a second person to control the canoe. I paddled up from behind and caught a branch under my bent knee. The big rainbow rose right in front of me. I literally flicked a single rod length of leader and tippet towards it. The large rainbow slowly swam over and, bam, another rainbow nailed the black deer haired cicada with rubber legs. I despatched it by lifting under the lower jaw, breaking its neck, then ripping off a gill to bleed it out.
So that makes about 114 individual patterns that we have caught trout on in the last couple of years, There are still a lot to go...
My 20-year-old, Beau, likes fried trout so I filleted it up, boneless for him. A bit of salt and peeper, lightly fry the flesh side first in olive oil. Then flip it on to skin side and fry until crispy. Then I get an ear full about how crap my videos are, blah blah blah. Hey, I am trying here. It is all in the video.
I went out yesterday for a sit and wait hunt for a stag with young Jack. That was a fail too. There is something therapeutic about sitting in the bush watching all of the life around you while hoping a deer will walk by. The paddle back before dark was so calm and tranquil that we decided to not put the fly rod together. It was so calm you could see the gentle rises all around us in the middle of the lake. Those small rainbows cruise along randomly and slowly sip bugs from the surface. It is a lot of fun trying to follow their pattern and anticipate where they will rise next. Next time...
