WRITING ON THE FLY
By GEORGE LISET

    We have had more than our share of rainy days this spring. A number of torrential downpours that have kept anglers off the water for days at a time. During those days I have taken to going on Google Maps to check out some local rivers and streams. What I realized was that I had fished most of them, but usually the same little stretch of each.

    One reason is that I usually catch fish at most of the spots I fish. As the late John Gierach wrote, “You don’t leave fish to find fish.” I know some of these spots get pounded by other anglers, so my goal was to look at the map to see if I could find a few new spots. These spots might take a little more effort to get to but hopefully wouldn’t see so much fishing pressure.  I started getting a little adventurous as I was looking at the maps.

    A few days later I donned my wet wading gear, brought my bug spray and tick spray and headed over to my first stop. I had all I could do not to stop at my favorite spot. It kept calling me as I headed up the river. I am not as nimble as I once was, but I was not to be deterred. I was climbing up a hill along the river through downed trees and thick brush when I came to a place where I would have to scramble over some boulders to get any further up the river.

    In my mind I was thinking about how I would explain to my wife how and why I got busted up when I was supposed to be fishing. I could hear my son laughing his butt off when I told him what I did. When I was looking at Google I couldn’t see this. It looked like a walk in the park. If I had a topographical map I would have at least had a heads-up. So I headed back to my favorite pool and got a few casts in.

    I had my three-weight rod and tied on a size 16 black Wooly Bugger. I drifted the fly down the river a few times. I then cast it up the river a little and stripped it in when I caught a nice eight-inch Brook Trout. I stayed a little longer and got into another good sized Brookie. I had a little more time and I drove a little way to my next stop.

    When I arrived, I walked into my usual spot, but since I still had a smattering of adventurous spirit, I headed up-river. Again, more bushwacking and a little more climbing. I was looking for some fishy looking pools but was not having much luck. After trekking up-river through more brush and briars I came to a realization that if there were any fish up here there would be some sort of trail.

    I’m not the first one to think he was Daniel Boone. I again headed back down river and hit my favorite pool and got into another little Brookie. As I was driving home I wondered if all that was worth it. Then I realized it was. I had fun planning the adventure, I caught some fish, and I didn’t have to explain to my wife why I got busted up, and best of all, I didn’t have to listen to my son laughing his butt off.

 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.