New perspective…from new gear

A few days ago, I received a box from a very good friend of mine (who has put up with my antics and impaired social skills since the late 90’s!) that was considerably larger than one might expect, when told that it would be an “old piece of gear” that this friend simply was not using, anymore. Upon opening it, I was thrilled to find an Orvis 2wt rod and the corresponding CFO I reel! My friend confirmed, when emailed to verify that he really was intending to part with this, that he truly did not use it, since acquiring another rig in a close weight. Wow. Many thanks, Brother!

Given this, the only logical thing to do is…go fishing!

I rolled up to a pull-off on a bright day with very few clouds, and a slight nip in the air but a forecast that suggested rising into the low 70’s. Something about the light quality, as you get closer to the first day of Autumn, that just makes a sunny day feel different. Hints of warmer tones perhaps suggest the impending leaf color shift?

Gearing up, I am again reminded of the change in gear and the relative delicacy of the new rod. I am conscious of the need to start very gently, then slowly work my way up the scale to avoid stressing the rod too much.

Walking downstream, I found a spot that I had not tried, previously, and worked down to the rocky banks. The river was only running around 39 cfs of 58-degree water, but the sun was now angling down into the canyon area, and some small tan-to-red bugs could be seen drifting above the water. I had tied on a #16 Elk Hair Caddis, and it appeared a fairly close match to what I was seeing in the air.

A good place to start.

First cast was greatly under-powered, made it perhaps 10′, then fell in a pile of coils… which I had largely expected. I remained in the area and began simply working my way up the scale of force, settling into a bandwidth that resulted in fairly good loops, and reasonably accurate fly placement. It was plainly obvious that the move from my 5/6 down to the 2wt was going to force me to focus much more on something that has often eluded me….finesse. Absolutely no room for the Hank Patterson “Snap it!” approach (Please don’t tell me if you are unfamiliar with Hank. It would make me sad), but that’s a good thing. As I moved my way upstream, the EHC getting some attention from below, I continued to work on different casts, and how they had to be modified. Within roughly the next 30 minutes, I had my standard cast and a j-hooking side-arm fairly well ironed out, and felt confident in focusing more on the actual fishing at hand.

In the slightly narrowed area, next to and slightly below the bush in the photo, I had quite a few small trout nibbling at the fly, with a couple pulling it under, but just could not fully connect with them. Still, as always, it puts a smile on my face to see a fly I had tied garnering that interest. Moving through here, I also had the chance to experience the grip of the Felt sole of my new wading boots. Very happy with them! I don’t recall any wading fails that were attributed to grip…although a few related to rocks shifting…and a couple that were really just poor placement of my feet. No river bathing, this trip, which is a good thing.

Moving past the large downed trees I observed some great holding water under them, and promised myself I would return with my standard rig. The water in question was deep, had a great seam, and could hold fish that I just wasn’t ready to connect with, on a 2wt. As I followed the bend in the river, it came quickly to another area of old trees, but this one had pocket waters and a great narrowing channel, as the flow cleared them.

Lots of interest in the EHC, in these waters, but still no hook-up. Pausing, I switched to a #14 Parachute Adams, my normal go-to. The first few casts had two trout drag the fly down, but I missed the set as I got used to the flex and line tension needed on the new rod. My fault, entirely, but part of the learning curve. I enjoyed several more near misses, over the next 100′, then came to a run with another riffle coming in at the top. Great rocky beach on the right, and a lot of space to continue to hone my casting.

Several near-misses in the water just off the seams on the tongue of water flowing in from those riffles. Really enjoyed this stretch, even with no fish brought to hand. Checking on the time, I observed that I had another 30 minutes, or so, before I should be back at the truck, and moved on to the final stretch. As I cleared the riffles, the next stretch, the area running right up to the point where I would exit the river at the truck, offered something that I usually don’t see on this river; a long area with tall weed growth on the right bank, hanging over the water and slightly undercut. I’m used to drifting a big, fat Stimulator next to undercuts in the Yakima River Canyon, so the set-up was immediately appealing, even if the water depth was only 6″, instead of 18″+.

This paid off by providing me the first fish on a 2wt!

Was it big? Not at all…but who cares? It was an overzealous little thing, that barely caught the tip of the hook, but it counts. Fish caught, and a beautiful stretch of time on the river quite enjoyed, I waded out and returned to the truck at my self-imposed deadline.

I am thrilled to have such a great rig (Thank you, again, Brother!), and look forward to not just enjoying using it, but learning from it and honing my finesse and patience. Who can’t use more of those, right? Great day.

Tight lines.