August 1, 2020 – Went in with Lower Expectations than Warranted – Northampton County Limestoner

Steamy enough for wet wading, but not nearly as bad as it's been.

It rained lightly for a sustained period on Friday, the last day of a very hot and fishless July for me, but more importantly the weather stayed cloudy and double-digits cooler all day as a result.  I saw a couple creeks in SEPA spike from the rain and temps dipping into low- to mid-60s each night, so I debated starting August with a trout or two.  Eric was actually on-board, which helped me to commit to a 3 AM wake-up for a potentially meh three hours of fishing.  When I checked my phone at 3:40 AM, however, he had decided to bail, having spent most of the night up with his youngest daughter with the sniffles.   I almost went back to bed, but it had been a couple weeks since I had even attempted to fish, and I was up, so I made the coffee.  This time of year is rife with bad fishing math: Drive an hour or more to fish for 3 or 4 hours if you are lucky, and then drive home when the bite shuts down before 10 AM.  

One shot in each shallow riffle to start.

Sunrise is pushing towards 6 AM now, which is a sign of the coming fall, as are some leaves beginning to drop in my yard, so at least I didn’t have to leave the house until 4:30 AM.  I decided to wet wade, and even though the first water temp I took at 6 AM was only 62 degrees, I was comfortable then up until quitting time at 9:30.  The water only came up a degree by 9, so had the flows been better and more of stain remained (and I had expected it to be good), it could have been really good.  The photos show the day I expected.  I landed at least 6 small stream average wild browns on small bugs in riffles and pocket water.  But what the camera did not capture was what could have been (and me dry heaving after losing a small stream pig at the net).

On the board early, but chances were limited.

It became clear to me early that I was going to have success with small bugs and light tippet.  That was what I had planned for, anyway, knowing that tricos and midges feature heavily on the menu now.  However, after picking up way too much grass with two bugs, even a size 16 on the anchor and an 18 on the dropper, I had all my success fishing one single frenchie on 6x.  Even though I tried one of Eric’s green midges and an 18 sexy walts for a while too, everything took the small mayfly imitation, including three better fish that I did not land.  I had my first couple of browns by 6 AM, but opportunities were few and far between.  With low water and no fish rising, I did a lot of creeping up to plunges and riffles to have but one shot at one or two active fish.  I saw that I spooked a couple hanging back waiting for spinners or emergers, but I am sure I spooked others even while being really careful and hugging the banks in drab colors. 

Choking the small frenchie and only the frenchie

In a favorite hole where I expect to catch a good fish, and have caught fish to 18 inches in the past in more favorable conditions, I had my unexpected chance.  I got bounced and did not connect on the previous cast, but the next time I lobbed the frenchie into the same seam, it was met with a subtle eat.  I set the hook well and, despite all the overhanging branches and obstacles in the water, I actually worked this small stream piggie—at least a wide 16 inches of male brown trout—to the back of the pool for a clean landing.  He wanted to go shallow on the opposite bank, and I was afraid he was about to just go period, like take off downstream, so I decided to expedite the end of the battle, and he just popped off.  The hook was fine—I caught 3 more fish on the same fly after so it did not bend—and I he wasn’t so green that he violently shook the fly or dislodged it on the bottom, which was my fear as he got shallow.  I actually kept him from jumping, upstream of me, and in control the entire time.  He just came unbuttoned.  This was not the 25 incher that made me vomit on another stream a few years ago, but I did do the post-adrenaline rush dry heave on this fish too.  Another one to haunt the dreams and to bring me back.

What I expected for the morning, a handful of 8 inchers...

Sometimes this level of random misfortune provides the opportunity to focus even harder, and sometimes I end days like this with another good fish because I am in a competition with myself now, hyper focused on not repeating any mistakes, known or unknown.  Today, however, when the second chance came about 30 minutes later at another big fish spot, I set the hook on another really good fish.  As expected, he went for a submerged log at the base of a plunge, and when I tried to turn him, I was met with slack line.  Yep, a bad knot.  The tippet came back with the telltale squiggle of a hastily (or half-blindedly) tied double clinch.  I had taken off the frenchie after a lull to try a walts in this deep pool, and I obviously failed when I tied it back on 10 minutes later.

... maybe a 10 incher.

I was miffed but, unlike the first lost fish, I had no visual evidence of just what I had dropped.  I was ready to quit, but I had to try one favorite deep riffle that did not produce earlier.  Three weights of flies and three patterns later, I finally hooked a decent 11 or 12 incher in this spot, but I did not land this one either.  I knew it was time to go, had been time to go, but I returned to the scene of the first disaster to watch for risers or signs of more life.  Nothing doing, and not a hit on the second visit, so no redemption today.  I will have some painful dreams and daydreams for a day or two, but the bright side is that my expectations were exceeded and, August or not, I will not make that particular mistake again.  I will definitely tie more bad knots, and I will definitely put a little too much pressure on a big fish in an effort to end the battle, but I will not wade in not thinking that my next white whale might be lurking.  I may need to break down and get a long handled net this year too.  When I first started fly fishing again in earnest, I did not expect to see the big fish I now see on a somewhat regular basis, even after two weeks off the circuit, as in this case!  I guess I really should expect them at any time and be more ready.  Low expectations lead to low results?

That frenchie and I will be ready next time, I hope.