Trip Report: Oops, I Did It Again

I got myself all pumped up to get out fishing yesterday and I forgot my camera. Not the worst thing to forget...I would be much worse off if I'd forgotten my fly rod or fly box, but still kind of frustrating. Once again I probed new waters in hopes of scaring up a few decent browns. I pulled off the road at the first spot I saw good water, geared up, and cautiously made my way through rattlesnake ridden grass. Before I reached a good hole I wanted to saturate my sculpin fly so I tossed it in a shallow run of about two feet deep. I watched a fairly decent sized brown track it down stream, nipping as it followed. There was nothing I could do to slow the speed of the fly. I took a few more casts at him but he would not indulge me with a strike so I continued to the first pool. I pulled a quick few 12-14 inch rainbows and continued on. 

After a few more pools and a few more bows I came upon a deep pool. The main current flowed through at about 4' deep with a shoreline protrusion diverting some flow back around, creating a whirlpool kind of feature. I couldn't gauge the depth but it must have been at least six to eight feet deep. I pulled out a quick rainbow. On the second cast I felt a sharp strike half way through the retrieve. I set the hook a little sharp, instantly snapping the line. I was using 4.7 lb test tippit, so it must have been a monster. After a few more casts resulting in two average bows I continued on. A bit further up stream I ran into a deep pool with current running under the far bank. I pulled a few nice rainbows up to 16 inches on the tail end of the pool. I then cast the sculpin into the current, mending it against the current. I felt a sharp strike. This time I set the hook a little softer and after a short fight I pulled in a vibrant 15 inch brown trout. After a brief moment of admiration I released him. After that I caught no more fish of note. I returned to the car disappointed that I couldn't capture the beauty of that brown in picture, but glad that I caught some nice fish. 

I got home and put my camera right next to my fishing gear for next time. After a quick bite I sat down at my vise and whipped out a few more sculpin imitations for Sunday. I plan on getting out tomorrow afternoon for some more trout adventures, so stay tuned!