The 40’s ended abruptly and the 50’s started with a bang, but I’m still officially an “average” fly fisherman. I’m vague on the source but I read the average fly fisherman was 51 years old – the demographic angling publications target.
I was struggling mightily to keep a midlife crisis at arm’s distance, but my insurance company and AARP pulled the rug out. Nothing like ripping open a missive to find out you’re an old guy.
I sought solace in the muddy bosom of the Little Stinking. She doesn’t discard “Gray Hair’s” like the rest of society, she’s odiferous and loyal.
Nearly a month since my last visit – and the water is lower still. The tomato fields have been in for a couple weeks and other crops are being sown and irrigated. The waterline is down nearly a foot and it doesn’t leave much room for fish.
I had my girlfriend in tow, part of my sinister master plan to build an angler out of raw clay, and the warm weather, low flows, and gravel bottom builds confidence in someone that’s never waded before.
I call it “the Brotherhood of the Muddy Boot” – it’s not quite fishing, more of a sweaty and arduous hiking trip – with the occasional cast for a visible fish.
..and the fish weren’t visible, so we covered a lot of ground without tossing a fly in anger.
I was explaining the intricacies of watching your line tip when something obligingly ate the fly. It was big, bright, and unknown – an inferior mouth like a carp, a bright yellow lower half and an olive upper. The dorsal was near midpoint on the back – so I knew it was no Pikeminnow.
My “cameraman” obligingly snapped what she could but the fish slipped from my grasp without posing. I’m assuming it may have been a Selenium enhanced super-strain of something – but I’ll have to do more research before informing the authorities.
Technorati Tags: Little Stinking, brownlining, fly fishing, old guy
Nice fish, whatever it was. What did it take?
It took a natural Bird’s Nest about a size 12. The picture doesn’t show size, this was a large beast – somewhere between 3 and 4 pounds.
Still haven’t figured out what it was – despite consulting the Davis fish list.
This is the closest I can find – it may be a white sucker in spawning colors.
http://www.anacostia.net/takoma/Takoma%20Images/Species/w_sucker.jpg
Inferior mouth should be carp or sucker family – and as it made the reel run backwards, I’m all for finding more of these fellows.
Hmmm,…Safeway’s tomatoes will require another 12″ of stream depth, maybe you could work on a fish photography blog for struggling, young stream & gutter biology majors.
So, then, that makes me below average? Man, I hate that!
odd looking fish – would have liked to have seen it better. Sounds like a fun fish, anyways.
Igneous – you may want to look at the UC Davis link for your fish ID, it may have been a hitch or a hardhead, both are silvery as you described.
Tom – I don’t quibble much about what it is if it eats flies readily, it’s one of my many shortcomings.
Thanks for the lead. It turns out that the fish I caught was a Hardhead. Commonly associated with Pikeminnow. They get as lrg. as 30cm in sml. streams. Mine was about 23cm. or 9″. Nearly spooled me!
At your age I would watch any activity too arduous out there. If I hear your muffled moans from the back forty I ain’t leaving the couch to drag your arse back up the bank,but I might send ‘little meathead’ back there to yap at you.