The Shokuryoshi Experiment
Time: 5:00pm - 5:30pm
Weather Conditions: Skies were clear, air temp around 80F with a slight breeze downstream
Water Conditions: Water temp ~64F, high flows but clear water
The flows on my favorite river were dropping. I kept checking on a daily basis as I saw them dip below 900cfs, then 800, then a quick decline to around 500cfs. I had always heard it was "fishable" around 700 or 800, but I wanted to see what it looked like. This day, the flows were around 450cfs - and it was still a bit challenging.
The high flows were only part of the challenge, as it was a hot day. Upon arrival at the spot I wanted to fish, a temperature reading while planning movements came back with the water temp at 64F. It was warm, but my plan was to target spots where there was plenty of oxygen being introduced into the water as I didn't think I would be able to get the fly deep enough to drift some of the bigger pools. Even then, some of the pools weren't as deep as the fish would probably have preferred (at least that's what I imagined).
Rigging up, I started with a 3.0 level line, around 400cm in length, and one of my "Ume Futsu" at the end of the line. I wanted to be able to reach some of the turbulent pockets that were out of wading range.
About 5 minutes in, there was still no activity. No fish rising anywhere within eyeshot. I started trying more downstream presentations to give the kebari a bit more time to sink down, but that wasn't turning up any fish either. Soon, 5 minutes turned to 10, then to 15. I was going to need to make a change.
The rocky banks required some scrambling to move along, and would slow me down quite a bit. It seemed to be faster to wade along the waters edge, but even then, it wasn't a fast pace first half. The same rocks that presented a hurdle in the ease of traversing the river bank also held hundreds of sheds from stoneflies that had previously hatched, which would influence my next fly change.
There was one point where I hit a stretch of fast riffles. It was here where I would have to get out of the water and climb along the rocks. I decided this was a good opportunity to switch lines and flies.
I went with a tapered nylon line that was around 380cm, fitted with a dark brown Oni-style kebari at the end of the tippet. My hopes were to be able to fish some of the pockets alongside the swift current with a large kebari that held a dark, easy-to-see (for fish) profile. This would pay off, but not for the section that inspired the change.
Further up at the head of the riffles was a pool where water tumbled over a shallow bar of cobbles and gained speed as the current wrapped around the slower moving water that lay in the center of the river.
It was here where I picked up my only two rainbow trout for the session. One bight early on didn't end with the fish in the net, but after moving up just a bit I found a fish that was quick to react to the fly in the water.
The first fight was fairly fast. The fish was relatively small, maybe around 6 or 7 inches. I took advantage of its light weight as it leaped from the water, pulling it across the swift current that created the rift between the bank and the slower part of the pool. With the fish in a slow moving pocket only a few feet from me, I scooped it up in the net, removed the hook and tried to snap a picture of it's vibrant colors and defined spots. It slipped away before I could press the button. Luckily I would have another chance to get a fish picture for the day.
Moving back into position, and slightly upstream to where I was in range of the head of the current, I placed another few casts in a spot where I could get the kebari to tumble along the inside of the curving flows.
This time, I was met with a swift strike that jolted the line. I drew the rod tip downstream once, then twice to ensure the hook was set. Immediately, the line pulled upstream. Not frantically, but controlled. I got the sense the fish knew what it was doing.
Trying to avoid letting the fish slip into the current, I pushed the rod upward, slowly pulling the fish up to the surface in hopes to keep it from using the flows against me. As it got up to the top, I quickly angled the rod so that I could pull the rainbow trout across the top of the divide and into the net. Success!
Now, this isn't a "trophy" trout by any means. That's not to say I'm not happy with my catch. But, in a way, I feel my thoughts and writing were a bit dramatic. It wasn't a long fight - truly, it was over pretty quick. In the moment, though, these choices on how to handle the situation came with a lot of quick assessment of how to prevent one of only a few bites from slipping away.