Did The Park Rat Thing Today

[laker67]

Sounds like allot of fun! It's not something I've done in awhile, but its always fun to get a chance to work a few drifts over a big selective fish and get them to move to take your fly. Land them or not.

You;re right Gavin, finding the fish, working into position, and anticipating the strike is like buck fever.

[Mitch f]

Even being able to hook a fish that big means you did your job fooling the fish! Well Done!

[laker67]

Even being able to hook a fish that big means you did your job fooling the fish! Well Done!

Thank you Mitch. I like to use the tan sowbug as a tracer bullet on a hard drift. It's easier to see than grey, and allows you to fine tune your drift if you have to change flies. It's a good winter color and like yesterday, it was working. The error that I made was allowing my 15 foot leader to wrap around the rod tip. While the fish was doing the head shakes, I was trying to free up the line. Didn't succeed and the fish broke off with no problems. On an average I land one out of three hookups, so I was ahead of the game by the end of the day. I fooled 3 good fish and that's the part I like best.

[drew03cmc]

Rick, I wish I had half the knowledge you have with regards to catching these big fish in the parks. Keep posting and, if you wouldn't mind, offer a tip on improving presentation in those conditions from time to time to help those among us who are lunker trout challenged.

[laker67]

Well Drew, one of the best tips I can offer, for you or anyone, is to spend countless hours fishing for little fish that are highly viisible in the water. Pick out individual fish and learn how to catch that one fish before moving to the next fish. Learn what every move or reaction they make might mean in terms of liking or rejecting your presentation. Watch your fly in the water and watch the fish at the same time. After a while , the fish will tell you about your fly, even when you can no longer see it. Learn to sight fish to individual small fish and you will know what you need to do when the lunker presents itself in a fishable location. Finding, approaching, fighting and landing a big fish, are more skills that you will have to learn as you go. In 1975 I witnessed a gentleman land his 100th lunker trout. at bssp. His name was Jack Bushacker. After witnessing that feat, I decided right then and there, that I was going to learn how to catch a lunker, and I set a goal to catch 100 lunkers in the next 10 years..