Chillin'

The hols have drifted by; and I've really had not much that 'needed' doing. Last couple days have been different - busy with pond spraying and then yesterday, the New Year's first foray to fresh water.

The stream was in perfect nick, although many of the shading trees had either been felled or fallen due to some of the winter storms. My walk down to the entry point took slightly longer than usual; I put it down to age. The 7'6"#4 felt like a twig compared to the kingi gear I've been casting of late and it took a while for the rhythm to return. On the way down I'd spooked a nice brownie at one of the crossing points [doh!]. The sky was overcast but I knew it would clear later in the morning; so for now spotting was difficult and as its sight fishing water I knew I'd be against it for the first hour. I missed or spooked the first 2 fish but the third was predictably hiding under the fallen willow that I jumped on and pushed through, climbing out onto a contorted mess of branches. I bow-and-arrowed a yellow Wulff into his window and he came up and grabbed at it but inexplicably missed. I dropped the fly in and again he rose but stopped short. From my perch I had to retrieve the fly carefully, cut the tippet and then tie on a nymph which I'd plink into his path. All cool in theory but that involved getting my reading glasses out while balancing on a tangle of weak looking branches over an 8 foot hole in which Mr. Trout lay. I managed it eventually, tested the knot and flicked the nymph n 5 feet up from the fish. As soon as he saw it he charged and ate. I hit him and he - thank the fishing gods - charged upstream. In commando [yeah right, more like clown] fashion I leapt from the branches to the head of the pool, landing in waist deep water and making enough noise for the fish to continue his upstream surge. After a decent battle in which the little 4 weight was hooped over I netted a spunky little 1.25kg fish and released him. Good stuff. Over the next 6 hours I hit enough fish to make up for the clangers including [doh! doh!] almost walking on a good 2.5 kg brownie that I should have known was there.

The fight of the day was from a rainbow rising freely 10m upstream of where I'd spooked the brown. As my fly was dropping he rose for a natural and then in a double take hit my fly and when the hook bit took to the air. He screamed up into his lair leaping like the proverbial bucking bronco, and jumped no less than 8 times in a series of somersaults and backflips. I really wished I could have caught that on video.

It was 3pm by the time I reached the car and by then I was chilled out. Fantastic day.

Happy New Year!