A Few Big Trout

With a brief break in the herring mayhem, I found some time to search for some big trout in my local TMA. Though it is still a little early for it there I gave night fishing a try the first day. Before it got completely dark I found a large brown, probably 24 inches, that was quite willing to rise. Unfortunately it didn't really have a pattern. It moved almost constantly, and I don't think I every actually got my fly right where it wanted it. The night bite was essentially non-existent, I only caught two small fish, so I returned the next day with a good lot of daylight hours to work with. Departing from my typical mouse and streamer methodology, I rigged up for nymphing. I hammered them. I caught a ton of trout. These days most tightline nymphers go really long and light with the rod and light and delicate with the tippet. I regularly tightline with a 7'6" fiberglass 5wt, a 9ft leader, and 3 and 4x, and I catch trout like they are bluegills. Wild and stocked, in rivers big and small. It's all about technique. The cast, the drift, the weight, the speed.

The best part about using this gear? If you get sick of nymphing, which I did after loosing four point flies, you're pretty well equipped to do whatever other kind of fishing you want: dries, wets, mice, poppers, streamers... it just takes a little leader adjustment.

With the streamer bite on this day being less than impressive I eventually switched back to nymphing, but with only one fly so as to cut down on the losses. That fly? One I have supreme confidence in. A sz. 14 Sexy Walt's with and orange thread collar. After a few nice rainbows and some dinkers, I set into something that just marched off with authority. Finally, something sizable. Two spectacular jumps showed me exactly how big this fish was.

OK, big rainbow done, now it was time to go looking for the big brown. I found one, but it ended up attached to another angler's line. Those of you who frequent the Salmon River may have met Larry a time or two. He was basically the river keeper for the Salmon before he retired. He does still help with stocking and is kind enough to tell me where big fish are. On this night he made a few casts with a borrowed rod and hooked the big brown that was rising in front of us. 

Unfortunately that fish made away with the fly, but the next day I would get my own shot at a huge brown. But that is a story for another time.