RobG
Well-known member
After trying to go on a hike twice today only to get turned back by thunderstorms I decided to go scout the local river for a friend who is coming in this weekend. I didn't really want to fish but threw in my fly rod just in case because I knew there was a good chance some big drakes would be out and I like head hunting big trout.
So I got to the river with about an hour of light left but could see no big drakes - only small caddis. I almost went back home but I could see a few slashing risers so I decided to rig up my rod.
Oh yea, I wish I would have brought my reading glasses. Trying to thread the 5x tippet into a #14 royal trude in fading light was a near impossible task without those glasses. The trude wasn't the best choice: too big and too pretty. In fact I rarely do well with it, but I figured it was the only thing I could see on the water.
It was really frustrating blindly stabbing a blurry tippet end into a blurry area between my finger tips that I knew contained a hook eye. Half the time I would think I was through the eye and carefully thread it further only to find out I missed the eye entirely. After two or three minutes I finally got it through the eye for real and it only took 6-8 more tries to get the tag end through the twists of a clinch knot. Finally, I was ready to fish.
However, when I got to the bank I noticed fish slashing at big old drakes in the fading light. JHC, how could I have missed them? I guess my eyes are getting pretty bad or I took so long the hatch started without me. Anyway, didn't want to go through the pain of tying on a new fly after all that I'd just been through so I fished the trude until it was obvious they didn't want it. Yup, I would have to go through the pain of tying on another fly.
At least it would be a big fly this time. That is, if I had remembered to bring my big flies. Crap, here I go on a drake expedition and forget the drakes... so I grabbed the closest thing I had which was a #10 elk hair caddis (I could stand the wing up like a mayfly). Then I started the process of trying to get the tippet through the eye. This time it was really bad - I couldn't even see the tippet, and, I kid you not, it took me no more than 10 seconds of blindly stabbing at that blurry hook eye area to realize I wasn't holding the tippet in my hand, which is why I couldn't see it.
Well, after another frustrating minute or two I managed to get the fly tied on. I even managed to catch a rainbow but mostly they weren't interested in something that was so obviously not a drake. Guess I'll have to try tomorrow and bring the glasses and flies this time.
So I got to the river with about an hour of light left but could see no big drakes - only small caddis. I almost went back home but I could see a few slashing risers so I decided to rig up my rod.
Oh yea, I wish I would have brought my reading glasses. Trying to thread the 5x tippet into a #14 royal trude in fading light was a near impossible task without those glasses. The trude wasn't the best choice: too big and too pretty. In fact I rarely do well with it, but I figured it was the only thing I could see on the water.
It was really frustrating blindly stabbing a blurry tippet end into a blurry area between my finger tips that I knew contained a hook eye. Half the time I would think I was through the eye and carefully thread it further only to find out I missed the eye entirely. After two or three minutes I finally got it through the eye for real and it only took 6-8 more tries to get the tag end through the twists of a clinch knot. Finally, I was ready to fish.
However, when I got to the bank I noticed fish slashing at big old drakes in the fading light. JHC, how could I have missed them? I guess my eyes are getting pretty bad or I took so long the hatch started without me. Anyway, didn't want to go through the pain of tying on a new fly after all that I'd just been through so I fished the trude until it was obvious they didn't want it. Yup, I would have to go through the pain of tying on another fly.
At least it would be a big fly this time. That is, if I had remembered to bring my big flies. Crap, here I go on a drake expedition and forget the drakes... so I grabbed the closest thing I had which was a #10 elk hair caddis (I could stand the wing up like a mayfly). Then I started the process of trying to get the tippet through the eye. This time it was really bad - I couldn't even see the tippet, and, I kid you not, it took me no more than 10 seconds of blindly stabbing at that blurry hook eye area to realize I wasn't holding the tippet in my hand, which is why I couldn't see it.
Well, after another frustrating minute or two I managed to get the fly tied on. I even managed to catch a rainbow but mostly they weren't interested in something that was so obviously not a drake. Guess I'll have to try tomorrow and bring the glasses and flies this time.
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