Well, I finally fished with the Weber bamboo rod!
The day started clear and warmed up very nicely, with barely any cloud cover all morning. In town, it reportedly got to the low 70s, with a lazy breeze pushing through, off and on.
A great day to head into the mountains.
I picked a favorite spot from the previous year, hoping to minimize the other variables and be able to focus on just how to fish with the new (old?) rod. This early in the year, the rivers are fed by so much snow melt that they often run very high, and can get cloudy or silty, as a result. Thankfully, this was not one of those days. Even on the drive up, it was clear that the rivers were running strong, but not overly full. Rocky banks and gravel bars were visible and dry in many areas, where in previous Junes they would have been submerged. On the way up, the sky got a bit overcast, but there were a few rays of sunlight that snuck through, during my visit.
Arriving at the spot, I noted also that no other vehicles were parked along the side of the highway or access road, for quite a distance. Nice to have some privacy and separation! I rigged up the gear, slipped on a 5x – 9′ leader, and tied on one of my #12 Parachute Adams.
(Poor thing took a beating, today. Dubbing in distress, as a result!)
I walked a couple hundred yards down stream, and slipped into the water. First order of business? Check water temp. I dropped in the stream thermometer, gave it 30 seconds to equalize, and read off almost exactly 50 degrees. For the record, despite the socks, neoprene boot feet on my waders, and nicely fitting wading boots, my feet would only wait about 30 minutes before calling foul on that reading, and then continually insist that the actual temp was barely above freezing (if not slightly below) until such time as I had returned to the truck. Regardless, I was there to fly fish, so I moved out from the bank and got the feel of the bamboo rod.
Compared to what I am used to (spoiled by?), the bamboo was HEAVY! I imagine that people who used them with any regularity must have had ripped shoulders and casting arms, within the first year of fishing! The balance was quite a bit forward of my hand, requiring constant tension to maintain angle and movement. Despite this, it was not too bad to cast with, once I got used to the unusual weight distribution. I have certainly tried more modern rods that had more play and flex in them. A couple of dozen “practice casts” (the code words for really bad casts that one can claim are resulting from any possible “external” influence or difference), and I was working my way upstream.
I had my first take within 20 minutes! It was a small, spunky, energetic little cutthroat! I gave it slack, and it slipped off the barbless hook, but not until after I had gotten a good look at it. It was so small that the fly looked like a bird stuck to it’s face, but it still counts. It bolted away as soon as it got free, and disappeared into the choppy water near my feet.
I know…odd picture. I wanted to get a shot of the first fish caught on the bamboo rod, but didn’t have the heart to keep such a small fish under tension or take it from the water.
After this, I moved up to a nice stretch where the river sweeps in from the right, then hits a rock face. Great trough at the river bottom, under that rock face, and I caught the second one of the day on the near side seam line of the incoming water. This one, a roughly 6″ Cutt, came to hand easily, then gladly returned to the deeper reaches when I let it go.
Moving past the riffles above this, I came through a long run of smooth water that reminded me of the fact that this river flows out of mostly snow melt and other very pure sources. At a reported flow of roughly 200 cfs, the rocks under a foot of running water could just as easily have been on display behind a sheet of glass.
Continuing on, I came to my favorite part of the river. Much like the previous elbow in the flow, this spot has a wide section of pocket water that runs off a shelf of larger stones then into a trough against a rock face. In fact, the river has a few of these, but this one has always been kind to me, in the past. It also has a great rocky landing on the side, where the family can bring folding chairs and read, while I fish!
The medium-sized fish appear to enjoy picking off the various food items that the cascading water delivers to them, in this area. As in the past, I got my third fish by casting into the fringes of the tongues of white water rushing towards the rock face. This one, about a 5″ cutthroat, I also gave slack to, to avoid dragging it over rocks that were between us.
All three fish hooked within about a 90-100 minute span, on a beautiful day in the mountains! Altogether, I am thankful for the opportunity to fish with the Weber, and may well give it a try in future trips, but it is a lot more work, to be sure! I have a fresh level of respect for those that used them, or still use them, for years!
Tight lines!