Marks wonderful wee fly has turned into a very effective pattern for me over the last couple of days- even though it does not really match the hatch of any naturals to be found in the waters I have been fishing it in. Our mayfly spinner here, the Lil Dorothy may be being taken for one of those as the body is a mahogany/red colour, I am not sure, but over the last couple of days it has worked well for me.
After yesterdays initial success, I decided to head out again today. Due to work commitments it was a little later in the afternoon and I would only have a couple of hours of usable light left in the day. So the choice was easy, somewhere close to home. I was going to fish the same stretch close to the bridge of yesterdays quick succession 6 trout landed, but on arrival the weather was so settled calm and sunny that I decided a quick walk up to the top pool of yesterdays beat was within the grasp of available light.
20 minutes later I had arrived and I believe the river has become even lower overnight, more of the central rock ledge that divides the pool was evident. Nothing rising and I was beginning to doubt my choice of rod- 8 1/2' #4 weight instead of the VXP 9' #6 I would usually carry to this pool.
I was tidying up last night and moved a rod case I had not used this season. It contains a Cabela's Wind River 4 piece graphite #4 weight rod sent over to me by a very generous forum member from Texas, we had been emailing a bit and I had mentioned the fact you could not get a nice #4 weight rod here for small stream work. He mentioned one day Cabelas were specialing a #4 weight rod out at under $40 and one arrived here in the mail not long after.
I paired the rod with a nice wee composite reel from Fiskar's of Denmark that were being specialed out here for under $40 and lined it with one of the 22 #5 WF lines from Monic I have (a deal too good to pass up). It is a good set up for wee fish in wee waters, not requiring huge casts. This pool is deep-fast and could hold trout in the double digit poundage range...........
After feeding out enough line to reach from the rock ledge to the foam line against the artificial flood protection bank of rock and again fishing the single Lil Dorothy as yesterday, I made just three casts into the foam line before a nose split the surface and I paused then lifted the rod to set the hook home.
Well- all hell broke loose and I wish I had someone there to take video. Brown trout here do not often leap once hooked, Rainbow- yes, but Browns usually bore down deep and try to rub you off. This trout took me by surprise for a moment and if not well hooked I would have lost her. The wee rod held up well, the reel has no drag and I did get caught a couple of times by the handle as she decided to run opposed only by the check of the wee reel. It was about then I remembered I had set the reel up as RHW for this very reason- hold the rod in your right hand and you can palm the exposed rim with your left without catching the handle!
The trick with fishing this pool (besides the funny turbulent water) is guiding the trout back through the rock ledge without busting the tippet with rock rub. I thought she was ready first time I guided her through a gap- she was not and it is just as well there is room on that wee reel for a full line and a generous amount of backing. More runs and much leaping later I had her back in the calm water and ready to beach, a fine conditioned 21" hen, full of eggs ready for spawning. The Lil Dorothy was well placed in the jaw, bend behind bone and was going to break either tippet or hook before coming loose. Not that I was putting a lot of strain on with the #4 weight.
After releasing her to play another day, I rinsed the scum off the Lil Dorothy and waded out to try again. The light was still good and although no trout were rising- there had to be more right?
Three short drift casts again....... number two for the evening. This one a lot stronger and did leap a couple of times, but behaved much more normally and bored deep- and ran up and down the pool for a good 20 minutes. It was a real challenge of wits and use of unfamiliar gear before I was sure I could lead him through into calm water. The Jack fish was 23" and bigger in the head than the hen, but not as well conditioned. I estimate they weighed around the same- but he was sure stronger and more of a battler.
This time there was no way the hook was coming out, couldn't have asked for a better placement security wise- but it does expose the tippet to a lot of teeth.....
On the subject of tippet, I have just started using some stuff I picked up very cheaply, but I am greatly impressed with. Never used or heard of it before and it was a bargain bin find- Warrior Globe. Advertised on the spool as "highest quality fishing line material from Japan". Nice stuff, limp with no memory, good knot holding and strength, low diameter per breaking strain and I get 100m spools for a lot less than 30m tippet spools!
Better shots of the pool fished this evening. I wade to the rock ledge (about the last rock exposed upstream in this shot) where the depth is about half thigh and the current slack enough not to upset balance.
Casting from that position and over the "messy" water just past the central rocks- the aim is for the the foam line a few feet from the rock bank.
After 6 trout yesterday and these two today that fly had lasted well- until I was drifting it across and down on the way back to the truck and caught a smaller trout which was a long range release. I got the fly back- but the wool yarn body was shredded.
I mentioned somewhere else confidence is an important part of flyfishing. As important to me as fishing to either sighted/rising trout or high probability water and choosing the correct size and colour of fly. I have a few fall back patterns I have a lot of faith in, Mr Libertones Lil Dorothy is making a late 2013 season run to be one of those patterns. I honestly think I could not have done a lot better fishing a different pattern over the last couple of days- who knows, I may have even done worse!
"Orange" just seems to work in the fall of the year, even in the Antipodes.
