Fighting Trout

[toolman]

I used to fight the trout much differently in past seasons than I have been this year. In past years, I would always gauge my success by having the trout landed in the net. This season I took a different approach and do not even use a net and I don't really care if I "land" the fish. What I now call "success", is getting the trout to take my fly and presentation. After that has happened, I fight them hard right away and make them jump, run and battle. I love a good scrap and learned that if you pull hard early in the fight, you will get what you asked for. Bow river trout can be nasty customers if you get them PO'ed and your landing rate will plummet by doing this, but I am going to let them go anyway, so no big deal. This way is usually faster and easier on both of us, as running, falling down the rough shoreline, often in the dark, can leave a few marks on both you and the trout

I'll take the one minute long, high adventure scrap that ends in a LDR, anytime, over a light handed 10-15min. walk down the bank, to get a photo of an exhausted trout.

If I win the fight, the trout is usually landed in a couple of minutes, 5 minutes top. Win or lose on the landing, my adrenaline is always pumping pretty high at the end of it and I have a big smile on my face.

Thanks to Gord K for the perspective.

[monger]

I like this attitude. I think I have seen my backing less that 10 times in 30 years of fishing the Bow. Just put the boots to them and you rarely have to move more than 20 yards (if at all).

[Guest rusty]

Funny you say that...

 

A guy from Scotland came over to fish the Bow with a few of us. We had some awesome days fishing hoppers a couple of years ago, and at the end of the day he said the same thing: he could not believe how aggressively we fought most of the fish. Most guys where he came from would take 15 minutes to land a good trout - always taking it easy and being sure not to lose it.

 

You gotta lay the boots to 'em!

[OneMoreLastCast]

I agree.

Although it sucks sometimes to lose a fish that you really wanted to see up close, I get great satisfaction out of having a big fish that I've snuck up on take my presentation. Especially a Big Spooky Brown sitting tight to a bank sipping on mystery emergers.

 

I boxed all my life and have played poker for years, so I started using comparisons to these when it comes to landing fish. They go along your line of thinking kind of.

 

In boxing, it sucks to get knocked out, (Personally don't know how it feels ), especially in the early rounds. My trainer said to me once, "If you get knocked out trying to win the fight, so be it. It's better than not trying to win and getting the shite kicked out of you for round after round after round, only to lose a decision".

 

In poker I have a similar comparison. If you get knocked out of a tournament really early it sucks, but it sucks more playing for many hours only to go out one or two spots away from making the money.

 

Both comparisons are saying what Toolman said. It is not so bad to lose the fish after a short fight, compared to a long drawn out fight and losing it at your feet.

 

It's nice to see an experienced fisherman like yourself adapt and change techniques and theories. That's what I love about Fly Fishing. You can learn for the rest of your life if you're willing.

 

As you've seen Toolman, I either lose the fish right away, or it's in my hand right away. Even with an old, little rod like mine you can get them in quick with practice.

I'm too lazy to chase a fish, I just figure I'll get him next time.

The one night was funny with Max fishing below me when I hooked into a good fish. The fish started downstream and I knew he was gone, so I just stood with a smile on my face and let him go. Turned around and started casting to the next one. There was no use chasing him through Max's water and stirring his run up, plus....when you're beat, you're beat.

 

Although, there are times when I feel like a good fight and enjoy a good battle, and I'll take the extra measures to land a fish.....

 

See you later this week and we can test out some new landing techniques

[toolman]

I believe the hook set and the way the trout takes the fly, has everything to do with the success of the landings. On Sunday evening, I hooked 5 trout on a skid bitch that I was dead drifting on the surface and allowing to swing too the bank at the end of the drift. I only landed one out of the five hooked, as the line had a bag/slack in it when the trout were grabbing the fly, just as it would start to swing. The only trout that I landed, hit right at the bank when my line had tightened below me and I gave it a couple of short strips, which triggered an aggressive strike and a solid hook up.

Last night I fished down and across on a tight line and had 5 to hand out of 7 hooked, because the line was always kept tight through the drift. Also, the fly I used was fished wet and would rise to the surface at the end of the swing, causing the trout to hit more aggressively, which resulted in better hook sets and more trout landed. I did not move more than 20' to land any of the trout and even pulled several almost a 100' back upstream to me, as the trout were bolting downstream at high speed after the grab.

The veteran Atlantic Salmon fishers who taught me how to swing a wet fly 20 years ago, would always say, keep the line tight and the rod tip low, follow the fly and don't let him feel the rod on the grab. I now understand what they mean.

[SilverDoctor]

I know where you're coming from. I have always believed that the key was to fish and have fun on your own terms. I love to experiment with patterns. Often with those I know will not work just to practice, casting, drifting the fly and watching the line in the air. I seldom post pictures of trout I have met as often the holding on to the fish is secondary to the take in my mind. I do love a good fight, but I gauge my success as a fly fisherman by knowledge of the water. What I see and hear, who I meet, and feeling connected to nature escaping from the daily grind into the solitude of water.

 

When you're young in sport you might think that the volume of trout is the thing. Instead it's the volume of the experience. I can't remember the number of fish I've brought to hand on a particular day. I can remember days in the rain with mayflies hatching around me, A sliver rainbow streaking up from 30 feet down to smash a dry fly, a brown trout rocketing 3 feet above the water silhouetted in the moons wake and the loud slurp of a fish feeding in a small stream late in the day. The sound of a small stream and visiting stream side with another like spirit.

 

I think too many times people strive for a kind of oneupmanship to show pictures of a gasping fish that has been banged around and fought till exhausted. Don't forget to watch the water, watch the trees and connect with yourself. Thanks Toolman for showing the ultimate in sportsmanship. We all approach the sport in different ways for different things. Some of us find what we are after, others find marvelous and magical things that we where not even looking for.

[Carlodabroads]

I agree.

Although it sucks sometimes to lose a fish that you really wanted to see up close, I get great satisfaction out of having a big fish that I've snuck up on take my presentation. Especially a Big Spooky Brown sitting tight to a bank sipping on mystery emergers.

 

Dude, you nailed it. I live for this situation on the Bow. The last time it happened to me in late may or June, I got a real monster in the exact fashion you describe. after stopping the intial run just into the backing, I dropped my rod to the side and started my pressure pull to get her to come back to shore. The line went slack and I thought he snapped the leader. I got my line in only to notice she straightened the hook on my cdc caddis right out. Heartbroken, I took a couple breaths to lose the butterflies, looked around, realized I did everything I could to turn her to avoid 300 yards of running at the big bend of rapids and realized Ill just have to catch her another night.

 

Got to love it! Great post Toolman.

[Conor]

I believe the hook set and the way the trout takes the fly, has everything to do with the success of the landings.

 

 

You say a lot of bang on shiznit, TM, but this is one of your best!

 

I found the same this season. I have not pulled a single hook from a fish I had a good hook set in. Every LDR I have had was on a tentative or, more often, late hook set. It is no coincidence that the more intense guys catch more fish.

 

Also, I have not pulled a hook because of too much pressure (on a well hooked fish). I find long fights tedious and boring. The presentation, the take and the hook set are my favorite moments of a catch, followed by landing, and with the fight a distant last. A good, hard, fast paced fight is a blast, but it is nothing like seeing a big brown tip his nose at your wicked presentation.

 

I have babied a few fish this year, because I REALLY wanted to see them up close, but I didn't enjoy it. Also, I usually felt a bit guilty for putting my simple wants over the fish's health.

[Guest rusty]

The first time I fished with Bowcrow I was BLOWN AWAY by his hooksets. The guy could take a small aircraft out of the sky with one of his hooksets - but he rarely loses a fish, and there's nothing worse than casually flipping the rod tip only to find out that the fish of the season was on the other end.

[lonefisher]

a fish hooked is a fish hooked a fish landed is a fish landed..... there is a difference it all comes down to what that difference means to you

[esleech]

a fish hooked is a fish hooked a fish landed is a fish landed..... there is a difference it all comes down to what that difference means to you

bingo.