About a month ago, Gooseberry Rods and I set out with our new sister rods, fresh from Scott's shop. We hoped to meet up with Nayashewon, but circumstances
conspired to frustrate us. Our first evening's adventure led Scott and I in search of the sulphur spinner fall on a 'storied' Wisconsin stream, and
while we didn't really find it, Scott did come across a nice 18.5" (taped) brown trout, in pressured water, that took his craftily presented emerger
tight to the bank. It gave us both a few anxious moments, until I was able to net it. Score 1 to the maker from Hibbing.
Our adventure progressed; after the next morning's relatively sparse trouting on another stream (interrupted by searching an Indian encampment for artefacts), we were taken aback by the sight of a large colored steelhead buck jumping in a downstream pool. I gave Scott a fly I had recently been given by Bob Hunt - and a few minutes later another story of "the one that got away" was being made. A brookie of approximately 15" grabbed hold of the perfectly presented fly, only to come unstuck right after we'd both seen the fish. Unwilling to give Scott all the action, I was fishing with some concentration down an enticing seam towards where the buck had jumped, when lo and behold, a bright chrome steelhead hen grabbed my fly. Our position was not good; obstacles prevented any possibility of following a downstream run. After a short period of some chaos, the fish swam up between us into what was, to her, apparent safety; she was no more than three feet from us! Scott's netmanship was first class, and I was glad of it: the fly fell out as soon as I bent down to unhook the silver torpedo. If I recall correctly, we taped her at about 22".
Below is a picture of one of the sisters, my Short Story made for me by my friend Scott Davis. It is a delightful 6ft 3in 4/5wt 3/2, and has a diminutive grip that enables wonderful control of, and intimacy with, the rod when casting. This intimacy with the rod becomes primal when a large wild trout's got ahold of your fly. The rod is crisp, superlatively sensitive, and with demonstrated power to handle quite respectable trout. The blonde cane's node work speaks of a commitment to mastering the craft demonstrated by few. The taper is as wonderfully effective at ten feet as it is at 45 feet, and handles a wider range of flies than should be expected of a 4/5wt. Thank you to Scott Grady for the rings, made by Tom Smithwick to the highest standard.
Tight Lines!
Alistair
Our adventure progressed; after the next morning's relatively sparse trouting on another stream (interrupted by searching an Indian encampment for artefacts), we were taken aback by the sight of a large colored steelhead buck jumping in a downstream pool. I gave Scott a fly I had recently been given by Bob Hunt - and a few minutes later another story of "the one that got away" was being made. A brookie of approximately 15" grabbed hold of the perfectly presented fly, only to come unstuck right after we'd both seen the fish. Unwilling to give Scott all the action, I was fishing with some concentration down an enticing seam towards where the buck had jumped, when lo and behold, a bright chrome steelhead hen grabbed my fly. Our position was not good; obstacles prevented any possibility of following a downstream run. After a short period of some chaos, the fish swam up between us into what was, to her, apparent safety; she was no more than three feet from us! Scott's netmanship was first class, and I was glad of it: the fly fell out as soon as I bent down to unhook the silver torpedo. If I recall correctly, we taped her at about 22".
Below is a picture of one of the sisters, my Short Story made for me by my friend Scott Davis. It is a delightful 6ft 3in 4/5wt 3/2, and has a diminutive grip that enables wonderful control of, and intimacy with, the rod when casting. This intimacy with the rod becomes primal when a large wild trout's got ahold of your fly. The rod is crisp, superlatively sensitive, and with demonstrated power to handle quite respectable trout. The blonde cane's node work speaks of a commitment to mastering the craft demonstrated by few. The taper is as wonderfully effective at ten feet as it is at 45 feet, and handles a wider range of flies than should be expected of a 4/5wt. Thank you to Scott Grady for the rings, made by Tom Smithwick to the highest standard.
Tight Lines!
Alistair
