Report 2/7

[Kayser]

Left Rolla around 9:30, stopped in Montauk park for a little while to look at the C&R section, just for old times sake. Water was LOW- probably 8-12" below where I'm used to it in this little spring section. On the drive through, I noticed just how many people were there! 65+ degrees for the predicted high, and the fishermen were out in force. I made a note of how many people were fishing where, and how they seemed to be fishing. No cars at the end of the park, but the cabins were occupied- save that for later. First, on to Tan Vat! 3 cars already in the parking lot, with one upstream and two in sight downstream. Good enough for me.

Gear up, tie on, and start walking. Tried swinging some wets for a few minutes to try and get on some caddis action, but no dice. After a couple fly changes and skipping to unfished water, I picked up a little rainbow on a #18 x-caddis. Three more rises and one hookup, and that's it for the hole. Fished most of the way to Baptist, seeing if anything wanted to play with the caddis again, and was not doing well. In a section that looked devoid of life, I was swinging the dry behind a boulder and had a nice (17-ish) brown slurp it down with extreme prejudice. So being the calm, experienced master angler I am, I panicked and pulled the fly right out of his mouth...

And that was it. Good scenery, but low water, very few fish. Met some nice folks on the stream, including a gentleman named George. We talked for a while, traded stories, and I promised to email him a link to some pictures later on. I sat down with a sandwich and a drink to watch him fish for a bit before heading to the end of the park and trading the jacket for sunscreen. It was a welcome change of pace from the snow earlier this week.

The water looked to be in pretty good shape, but I probably should have fished it earlier to take advantage of the sun angle- the afternoon sun was right in my eyes, and the glare cost me a few fish. Prince nymph and caddis larva beadheads, no split shot, and a yarn indicator. The first hit came from a decent rainbow, on the indicator, making me seriously reconsider my choice in flies. But, the next cast was more swing than drift, to keep the flies up in the water, and BAM! He was mine. Another drift, and a fish on the prince! Definitely looking up for the afternoon. I kept moving, picking up fish here and there, some small, some decent, nothing to write home about.

I was almost to the bluff hole, with probably 10-15 to hand, and turning to move again. My flies were swinging downstream, skating across the surface when a shadow broke from the grass on the bottom and the prince disappeared in a gaping white maw and a noisy splash. A few minutes later, and a thick rainbow was in the net, after a couple interesting attempts (I really need to reconsider this 12' leader on an 8' rod- makes it hard to get bigger fish close to the net). But it was the kind of rainbow that people paint pictures of, the kind that get put in magazines. Only 17" long, but tall shoulders, full red (not pink) fins with white tips, big wine-red stripes devoid of spots, and a dark green back with hefty black spots- one of the best looking rainbows I've pulled from the Current. Pull the camera from my pocket to snap a quick photo, and "BATTERY EMPTY." Great... Set the net down in the water, fumble for my phone, look back, and the fish is out of the net and swimming. No worries- pick up the rod, pull tight, and... the net comes right to hand, sans fish. The flies had pulled out in the mesh, and freed the fish. Such are the dangers of barbless hooks.

Kept fishing through the rock garden, pulled a few more fish, and decided to make it back to Rolla.

All in all, ended the day with maybe 20 fish and a couple pictures, but not quite the pictures I wanted. I guess I'll just have to go back and try again.

[BruteFish83]

A battle with a 17" slab on the Current would definitely make my day. Great report!

[flyfishmaster]

Thanks for the report Kays. I'm hoping to get down to the Current in a few weeks for a day. If I swing through Rolla, you need a ride?

Later,

FFM

[salmotrutta]

Nice report. Sounds like a good day for sure.

[Kayser]

I'm always up to split gas. This semester is busy, but I think I'll be able to sneak away if I get enough warning.