proper introductions

The Kings, then Browns, then Steelheads. That’s the order of fish that will swim up this river during the months of October through February. Currently, browns are supposed to be swimming here. I drove up to the river alone, I wanted to focus on nothing but fishing this day. It’s gotten colder here but it’s still manageable with warm gear (soon it will be too cold even with warm gear). It’s actually been a while since I put on the vest, since I usually force myself to fit everything into a small waist bag. I clamped on my new steelhead landing net, and I was ready to meet some browns. I arrived at the water much later than I planned, so I wasn’t expecting much… I just wanted to see some sign of fish, so that maybe I can come back early some other morning. As I carefully waded through the water, I saw a few smaller browns holding in tight spots along the other bank. I threw in a few casts, switching out the flies, but no takes. These fish are not actively taking them, they just sit there getting ready to spawn. Basically I needed a rig that was going to allow me to get the fly right into the fishes mouth. The river is small & shallow, so the currents change speed & direction frequently. I tried various heavier flies, bead head nymphs and stone flies, but I could not manage to get it into the fish’s mouth. With each drift, the fish spooked and I had to find a different holding spot. Fortunately for me, there was fish holding in lots of places, and this was forgiving to my lack of skills. I watched another fisherman upstream catch a couple fish. He was making short, almost snagging casts to the fish. I could not believe he was that close to the fish and not spooking them, but I guess these fish are that way when they are spawning. I put together a simple split-shot and a streamer tied close (10” close). I threw the fly as close in front of the fish as I could, then carefully drifted the fly into the mouth of the fish. The fish was on. The first fish was a smaller brown, and it must have been at the end of its spawning cycle, it gave a short fight, then into the net. The net was too big for the fish, and it made this medium sized fish look tiny. I let the fish go as quickly as I could, as it only had a few more days of its life left in it. I slowly waded upstream then started to spot larger fish. The next one I was going to target was under some branches, and this was going to be a tricky cast. I missed the target and my fly was snagged in the branches above the fish. I waded over to unhook the fly and the fish took off with different kind of energy. This was encouraging, to see fish that were still strong and promised a good fight. I spotted another fish a bit further upstream next to a log. I hooked the fish and it gave me the best fight I experienced with a trout. In fact this was going to be the largest trout I ever caught, so I took my time in bringing him in. This time the net size was more appropriate. I hooked a few more, landed one more then I wrapped up for the day. As I walked back to the bridge, I saw a remains of a king. Something must have gotten to its body, likely a raccoon and only the remains of the head was there. It rested on the dry bank, proud, having finished her duty for her kind. It was a good day.