Deep Nymphing with James Joyce ?

In the early 1970s approximately twenty miles due east of a tiny hamlet in upstate New York called Hamburg, I was standing waist deep in a very chilly private stream staring like a gambler at the Kentucky Derby finish line at my slack line slowly tightening. A red winged immature black bird and several butterflies were my only companions as my #18 Tail Water Sowbug fooled a wily 16 inch Brook Trout and the duel began...

In the course of several wrist twisting minutes the resident big Brooky made numerous fine evasive moves and suddenly had me trying to keep my balance while avoiding super slippery smooth stream bottom rocks. Before I could catch my balance and move the now tiring trout into shallow slack water, I tripped and fell striking my head sharply and recalling the sight of the fish recuperated snapping off while entangling my line among the stream boulders...

When I came around again a tall man wearing thick glasses’s was standing over me smiling, “Looks like you lost that battle young man, better get that head of your’s looked at before you try and wrestle any more of these over educated trout!”

Shafts of late morning sun reflected off the strangers thick glass’s blurred my vision as I struggled to gain my balance and sat up feeling the big knot on the side of head, “ My friends call me the Eagle, don’t know why can’t see forrest for tree’s anymore. But, I did see that fine trout take you to school.”

“ What brings you out here on this pretty day sir?”

“ Just trying to sort out a poem that keeps running through my Irish soul, good friend of mine from Paris, another avid fishermen named Hemingway thinks I should work this silly sonnet out.”

“ Some day I hope I’m smart enough to write something more then my shopping list?”

“ Another old friend and by god a real poet Ezra Pound used to say a fishermen he knew, “ Fished by obstinate Isles.” Reminds me of watching you wrestle with that brook trout.”

“ Have you written about any crazy young men possessed of the demons that come from reckless youth spent at the end of fly rods?”

“ I have indeed, a little tale on the order of Homers Odyssey in which a young man named Dedeilous gets himself caught up in all kinds of mischief. How a about letting me take a turn with that fine Bamboo your letting collect dust?”

Within minutes the man with the thick glass’s had fooled a colorful brook trout full orange flashing of 12 inch fury...

“ You ever been to town called Dublin ? Seems like I have seen that mug of your’s in the old Ale House?”

“ The merry cuckoo, messenger of Spring,
His trumpet shrill thrice sounded.”

Amorett ( 1595. Sonnet six
Edmund Spencer 1552?-1599

California has been visited to the extreme by the rain gods this season, as of this month all major reservoirs are nearing three quarter capacity which absolutely insures avid fly fishers extra consideration and caution. This state like many places in the world can experience periods of relative grace from above when rains occur as expected and volume is high with good snow pack. The major rivers from the mighty Sacramento River that now allows fly fishing year round in its splendid upper reaches, including the majestic Merced, American, Carson, Truckee, Walker, Yuba Rivers and smaller feeder streams flowing high and fast for at least another five to six weeks and that estimate is conservative.

Early Season Fast Water Tactics
( Fly Medicine for the unwashed mass’s )

The river stream trout season begins here in California last Saturday of this month April 30th, those water hungry souls considering where to throw very deep diving nymphs, emergers, or creative streamers that can cover deep fast water, will find many great opportunities if they play by these simply rules.

1. Never attempt to wade any fast water that you don’t know under any circumstances. Your safety and the safety of those who might have to save your dumb ass are far more important pilgrim.

2. If you learn how to judge where water current slows down as in places where large boulders exist or around fallen logs or where your creative expert stream current reading eyes can imagine water creating pockets where trout can conserve energy and wait for food to pass by. Simply learn to sit quietly and watch the water, you will begin to understand where these slower deeper places exist in areas where surface water is slack and quiet. After one or two successful hook ups your confidence will build, hopefully.

3. Many of the standard streamers from wolly buggers in black or olive patterns, Matusa patterns, Clouser minnow types flowing patterns, many emerging very buggy caddis patterns that almost look like streamers, yet are actually caddis, are superb patterns for taking early Spring deep trout. Depending on where you live local patterns including great patterns like Scott Sanchez’s “ Double Bunny in bright yellow, Mr. Bear Andrews “ Bears Olive Zonker a great baitfish imitator. See these patterns and many others in Federation of Fly Fishers Fly Pattern Encyclopedia by Al & Gretchen Beatty. This is a special time of the year when creative fly fishers can dream up special patterns or Frankenstein scary bugs that illicit a trouts territorial fear response.

4.The contemporary fly tying trend towards more buggy- feathery, flowing live hackle flies is very sound thinking. I have been tying many patterns that are buggy and resemble live creatures. Let your Spring fly tying be more creative, Jason Aki a fine young master tier creates ugly black bugs that are deadly. Be creative and tie live, scary, ugly flies that induce fear, awe, shock response, instead of oh yeah another nicely tied mosquito so what. In my mind those fly tiers who tie to impress other fly tiers are like guys who marry gorgeous woman to impress other men? Next time your out on any stream use a strainer and scrape up some stream material under a rock and take a long look at the ugly imperfect buggy looking stuff in your muddy hand cowboy/cowgirl? Perhaps spending less time trying to match the hatch like the other 6 million sheep out there throwing flies. Why not begin to think out side the box and design new patterns with more unusual colors or legs, or palmered or smaller or think about the endlessness of this mind set?

5. Find your own isolated place as far away as possible from any and all human activity to fly fish alone and undisturbed for hours. If you managed this aspect, you my friend are more then 90% in the fly fisher intergalactic cosmic eco-conscious nirvana... Even if you neither caught or saw a trout!

6. Do you understand what deep nymphing means? I suggest a new fly fisher might consider buying at least ten different new bright colored strike indicators and practice using, throwing, watching all of them on your first two trips this year. If your not catching fish it is because your either not using the correct deep diving fly pattern or your not getting deep enough or your unable to see or feel or tell when a trout is hitting your fly.. This is why you must consider relearning basic skills like getting and staying down deep with the right pattern that you can see trout hitting for the entire length of your perfect 60 foot throw there Mr. River runs through it.... Alas if one learns how to properly use eco- safe split shot or any of the new eco- safe fly line weighting systems you will begin to truly enjoy fly fishing by actually catching fish... Many new brands of safe heavy putty type soft material are coming on the market each season. Buy the latest outdoor outfitter catalogues as well as the world wide web.

One possible method that can be effective in learning just how deep your fly is working is to practice over and over the following routine. In medium speed water, the kind of currents you find around mid season where ever you live. First get used to attaching and reattaching at least four different kinds of strike indicators. There are many kinds including a snap on and a rubber band held plastic bubble or a balsa bullet with tiny rubber on each end, the point is buy three or four. Now measure your length of tippet and your leader and the extra few inches above and begin throwing and watching exactly what your fly is doing? If you spend time watching how your fly moves along the bottom and have the good fortune of seeing a trout flash and take your fly while at the same instant noticing how your strike indicator jerks away will be a great visceral lesson. Nothing makes the complete fly fisher than complete confidence in skills and techniques. Refreshing ones skill bank is only prudent and sensible.

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“ ADVENTURES OF FLETCHER QUILL “