WRITING ON THE FLY
By GEORGE LISET
If you have spent any time on the water fly fishing, you’ve had one of those days. If you have spent a lot of time on the water, you probably feel like you have had more than your share of those days. I know I feel like I have. What do those days look like? They can take many shapes and forms. Usually those days come about because of being tired, or being in a hurry, or doing something stupid, but mostly because you get a little lazy or a combination of the above. Sometimes they just happen, and you are an innocent victim.
Let me give you some examples that “I may have heard about.” There was a gentleman, a good looking guy from the story, that drove over an hour to get on a special stream. As he was getting in the river, he slipped and broke the tip of the rod. When he went back to his vehicle, he realized that he hadn’t brought a spare fly rod.
Then there was another good looking guy who was fly fishing and saw a big rise while he was changing his fly. Being in a hurry he apparently didn’t check his knot. After a couple of casts he got into a pretty big Rainbow. As the fish got close to the net he gave one last big effort and exploded out of the water and was gone. The fisherman was left with a pigtail on the end of his tippet.
Sometimes fishermen forget that they are not twenty anymore. Like the fisherman who was climbing over kettle sized boulders trying to get to a great little pool and slipped. The good news was that he didn’t break his rod but he was sore for a few days. Apparently he didn’t tell his wife. Oops.
Winter fishing is always a fun time to have one of those days. The fisherman who was casting to a far bank of the river and got his fly stuck in a bush. Rather than to just break off a dollar fly, he waded over to the other side and saved the fly which caused him to be stuck in mud. While extracting himself from the mud, he falls in and gets totally soaked. When he finally got back to his vehicle, he realized he had left the waterproof pocket in his waders unzipped and that his cell phone was a goner. All for a dollar. Can you believe that guy?
And , yes, even I have one of those days. I headed up early to fish a tributary of Lake Winnipesaukee where I was going to meet my son after work. I heard the Salmon and Rainbows were coming up the river and was excited. I fished for about five hours without any luck. I threw everything in my fly box at those fish and still no luck. When my son arrived he realized that he had left his sling pack with his flies and net at home.
I told him no problem and that I had a whole bunch of flies that don’t work, but suggested he use an orange wooly bugger which I had luck with last week. I told him that I would be down river a bit in case he caught something, I would bring my net. I finally got settled and heard the water explode and a huge fish jumping. I look over and Reed’s fly rod is bending and dancing. I reel in my line and head up to Reed.
Reed started reeling the Salmon in and got the fish within ten feet and the Salmon made a huge run and took him into his backing. After what seemed like an hour, we got him to the net and he exploded out of the water and started heading back down river. We finally netted the fish and after we revived him let him go. Now I am happy for Reed, but I am thinking to myself, I have been here all day and all I have to show for it was sore knees. I was heading back down to my spot when I saw another angler, in my spot, netting a beautiful Rainbow. All I could think was “It’s just one of those days.”
George Liset of Dover is an award-winning outdoor writer and avid fly fisherman who shares insights of his time on the water exploring New Hampshire streams and rivers as well of those around New England. George is a graduate of Wheaton College, Illinois, and the University of New Hampshire. His column Writing on the Fly has been honored by the New England Press Association and the New Hampshire Press Association.