9/21/2009

Back in the Canyon...



...meaning, Cheeseman Canyon - an old familiar friend that can be a real tough nut at times. And this was one of those times. Stoopid tough nuts....

At least the weather reports were all pointing to a fantastic late summer day, with temps in the mid-70s and blue skies - and they were right. It wound up being a great day to be out and about tossing a fly (unless one forgets to put on their 'sun-scream'....Eva? Are you paying attention?).

I got up to the river early, with my much, much better-half planning on meeting up with me later in the day - but even at this hour, there were already quite a few folks there gearing up. I guess I'm not the only one that watches the weather.

So, I geared up as fast as possible, and walked the rolling mile to the water's edge, and lo and behold! there were a lot of fish in the river - and they all seemed to be actively feeding. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!

I already had an RS2 tied up from my last outing, so I tossed that their way - and shortly there-after, wound up hooking a little fella - about 8 inches or so. Didn't even see the guy...and I must have got him at the end of my drift - apparently I set the hook as I went to retrieve my line.

After that, I focused on the tubs that were parked in a deep seam in the middle of the river, and wound up striking out with the RS2. So I switched over to BDSP and the first cast through them, I bagged myself a nice 20 inch Bow.

Turning on my camera, I saw that I had about 10 minutes of juice left for filming, so I quickly got some footage and switched over to the GoPro for an underwater shot - only to find out that the batteries were missing from the camera. Ah yes, the pitfalls of having a 6 year old in the house with a need for batteries to run all of his goodies. No underwater shots this time around.

After the release, I went back to the well for another shot (actually, quite a few shots) but the fish left in there had no interest in the scud - and not wanting to change out yet, I walked a little way down-stream and saw a beauty of a fish parked beside a rock.

After a few casts to get the drift down, I wound up rolling this one as well - not as fat as the first one, but longer, and he looked real nice in the net (you know what I'm talking about).

Before the sun lit the water like David Hasselhoff in the middle of a weekend bender, the scud was once again the go-to fly. I bit into one more sub that wound up breaking my line...and then everything stopped.

Seriously, once the sun came out, it was if a switch had been thrown and the fish shut down.

One fish, in particular, was in a nice seam, maybe a foot below the surface. The drift was so perfect that even Stephen Hawking could have made it with little effort. I threw everything I had at this guy and....nothing. Same with the next one...and the one after that.

Fortunately, it wasn't just me - throughout the rest of the day Eva and I spoke with a lot of folks, and they all said that it had been brutally slow - even a guide that I was talking to (out of earshot of his client) said that it had not been the best day to be on the river.

I only managed one more smaller rainbow (12 inches) on a Hare's Ear the rest of the day, and that one I pulled from a deep seam while blind-fishing.

Overall, it was a good day - I netted two awesome trout, and two wee little fish, and lost one sub - and given how slow the river was fishing to begin with, I think that's pretty darn good. Plus, I know that it will be picking up as autumn moves forward - so there's more to be had down the road.

Unfortunately for me, though, I am going to miss the entire month of October due to a brutal travel schedule and workload. Hopefully, Eva will be able to make it out to the river once or twice and, between her and all of the blogs that I follow, I hope to be able to 'fish' vicariously through all of you.

Here's to hoping that I can handle a full month and some change without throwing a line.

11 comments:

Brian J. said...

nice rainbows! A whole month of brutal schedule? man... that's crazy-- you need to find a brownlining hole next to home or when you're out and about traveling... well hopefully next time the fishing won't be as tough

cheers

R.K. said...

Hey Brian - good advice, and I wish I could take my gear with me (it was one of the first things to cross my mind!), especially when I hit Florida.

Unfortunately, these are 'turn-N-burns' with tight deadlines and mad-dashes from one airport to another while lugging a ton of a/v gear.

So in airport terminals and hotel rooms late at night, I'll be checking in with all of you for my fish-fix - and I know ya'll won't let me down!

John said...

Very nice rainbows there! I bet they were fun! Hopefully you get right back into the action after your busy schedule, and the fishing is good to you. If you start having withdrawals, just remember you have a world of fishing at your fingertips! Although it will never even compare to the real deal, it's the next best thing.

R.K. said...

John - thanks for the comment and the kind words. As for withdrawals, those start the minute I get back from the river...so at this point, I'm basically climbing the walls and ready to blow a gasket.

But, it's blogs like yours that keep it in check. Reading the posts and seeing the pics are helping to get me through to November...and then it's ON, brother! I'll be storming the water like the allies at Normandy!

Unknown said...

Sweet fish Ron!

Ironically, I think the low, clear, finicky fish is the main reason I like the Fall so much. You may get schooled every now and then, but fishing in the fall is like playing chess ... it's a battle of the minds and when you win it feels great.

SM said...

heard you were in town and you didn't even say hi? afraid i would make you play some five card and take all youre money?

R.K. said...

Jeff - ah yes, like Chess. Easy to learn and it takes a lifetime to master. And being schooled, time to time, is part of that education. But, having left off with a slow day on the water...when I finally do make it back to the river, I'm taking no prisoners!

Sean - never! If memory serves me right, the last time we played we both lost the house to that friend of yours (can't remember his name).

Should be back up there sometime in late November - I'll let you know.

Bigerrfish said...

BOO!!

R.K. said...

Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude! Ah man...I got some video you're gonna like. Yeah, it's a shot of a nice fish with YOUR fly in it's mouth. Your rubber-leggy stone-fly-pheasant-tail-bead-head-thingy did it's job, bro! Hope to get something up shortly...

Bigerrfish said...

awesome video footage man I can just imagine what was going through your head the night before and the rush you got rigging up with cold hands when last time it was warm. bet you felt like a dude with a cast on his dick.. well glad you got to get a little of it out of your system but I know you well enough to know you have some unfinished buisness whit the cheese men

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