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Smoke Break?
Posted 17 July 2014, 7:38 am NDT
Big One!
(larger version)
Well; it has been a busy few days on the river. It seems that the main run of Grilse is starting to arrive as there are a greater percentage of grilse getting caught this week as opposed to last week.
Every day our guides and guests report that they see numerous fish in the river; but; they indicate that they are not going for the fly very well. Some are speculating that it is because the river is up and they are only holding in the pools briefly before continuing upriver to the spawning grounds.
The other morning myself and two guests were treated to quite a show. We were sitting on the deck enjoying our morning coffee when we noticed Nelson fishing at "One Fish Rock".
We were chatting and we fully expected him to catch a fish before too long. As our discussion continued about this year's angling results I noticed Nelson with his rod tip straight up in the air reeling very slowly.
There was no bend in the tip of the rod it was as if he was adjusting the length of line before his next cast. We then watched as he stuck the butt of the rod under his left arm and casually reached into his pocket for his cigarettes.
He casually lit his cigarette and put his cigarettes and lighter back into his pocket. He then returned to reeling very slowly. Within about 10 seconds we noticed that the tip of his rod was bent over and he was playing a fish. We watched in amazement when we realized what we had just witnessed.
Nelson had hooked the fish before he lit the cigarette. Nelson has often told us that if you let every bit of your line slack the fish stops struggling and can be brought in without as much struggle as one that is hooked and the line is kept tight.
Most of us wouldn't even think about practicing this method because we have always been told that when you hook a fish you must "Keep Your Tip Up" or "Keep A Strain On Your Line". Anything less would result in the fish throwing the hook and escaping.
Well needless to say Nelson is not your average angler. After he finished his cigarette he finally reeled the fish in next to the boat and tailed and showed us the gorgeous 12 lb salmon that he quickly released back into the river. Thanks for the show Nelson!
Every day our guides and guests report that they see numerous fish in the river; but; they indicate that they are not going for the fly very well. Some are speculating that it is because the river is up and they are only holding in the pools briefly before continuing upriver to the spawning grounds.
The other morning myself and two guests were treated to quite a show. We were sitting on the deck enjoying our morning coffee when we noticed Nelson fishing at "One Fish Rock".
We were chatting and we fully expected him to catch a fish before too long. As our discussion continued about this year's angling results I noticed Nelson with his rod tip straight up in the air reeling very slowly.
There was no bend in the tip of the rod it was as if he was adjusting the length of line before his next cast. We then watched as he stuck the butt of the rod under his left arm and casually reached into his pocket for his cigarettes.
He casually lit his cigarette and put his cigarettes and lighter back into his pocket. He then returned to reeling very slowly. Within about 10 seconds we noticed that the tip of his rod was bent over and he was playing a fish. We watched in amazement when we realized what we had just witnessed.
Nelson had hooked the fish before he lit the cigarette. Nelson has often told us that if you let every bit of your line slack the fish stops struggling and can be brought in without as much struggle as one that is hooked and the line is kept tight.
Most of us wouldn't even think about practicing this method because we have always been told that when you hook a fish you must "Keep Your Tip Up" or "Keep A Strain On Your Line". Anything less would result in the fish throwing the hook and escaping.
Well needless to say Nelson is not your average angler. After he finished his cigarette he finally reeled the fish in next to the boat and tailed and showed us the gorgeous 12 lb salmon that he quickly released back into the river. Thanks for the show Nelson!
