Five Rainbows In 90 Minutes – Lost!

I decided to head over to Humber Springs this evening and try to get in a couple of hours of fly fishing. I ended up getting in about 90 minutes all told.

What do you do when you are using a fly that seems to be a killer, but every fish that’s hooked gets off? That’s what happened to me tonight. I was using the fly that Aaron calls his “Viva” (but it’s not quite the same as other Vivas I’ve seen), and on about the fourth cast, fish on!  Not a huge one –  probably about 16″ – and I easily fought it and brought it to the dock when I went for my net.

“Darn!” I exclaimed to no one – there was no one else around – as the line went limp.  The fish had managed to unhook itself.  But at least I knew early that the fly was working tonight. So I kept with it.  About 20 minutes later, another fish on! “This one’s not getting off,” I said to myself.   The rainbow trout had other ideas and after about two minutes, it was gone. And that’s the way it went for me.

Two more rainbow trout, one a decent size that was over 20″, all solidly hooked it seemed, but I lost them.  Then, just as it was getting dark, I had another hook up, however this one wasn’t as solid as the previous four, but still it was the fifth fish on during the 90 minutes I was angling.  If the first four weren’t as solid as they were, I would have guessed that the hook needed sharpened.  And I even thought it might be a good idea anyhow, but alas I had forgotten my hook sharpener at home.

I don’t think I have ever lost fish like that before, except perhaps during a session in Grande Prairie at the Canadian Fly Fishing Championships.  Ah well – something I need to learn. Not sure what it is yet.

It was still a good evening though. On my way in, I saw a huge Blue Heron standing on the shore and was within 40 feet of it. As I stopped the car hoping I might get a photograph, I watched as the huge bird spread its wings and took off into the sky.  Further on down the lane, a few grouse scampered into the bush, and when I stopped near where I had seen them, I also saw a female wild turkey that hopped away.

It was one of those beautiful evenings when the temperature is comfortable, the sky looks pretty, and all you can hear are the birds singing,  frogs croaking, the odd trout coming to the surface to take something – and did I mention the cow giving birth? Have you ever heard a cow in labour?  I have. I used to work on both a dairy farm in Ontario and a ranch in Alberta, so I’ve heard that sound a few times.  There was definitely a cow giving birth in some nearby field behind the trees.

I also heard the sounds of jet airplanes overhead a few times, as Humber Springs is almost right under the path of passenger planes flying from the west to land at Toronto’s international airport. At one point when I looked up, two planes had crossed paths, making this “X” or kiss symbol in the sky:

Later, before the sun started to set, I watched the full moon rise into the sky from behind trees in the east.  It was a magnificent site, and these photos just doesn’t do it any justice:

Perhaps it was the full moon that I can blame losing all the fish on!  Maybe the fish would have been taking any fly that I cast to them.  But regardless of the defeat tonight at bringing rainbow trout to the net, it was still a very nice way to spend the time before it became dark.  At dusk, right on schedule, the mosquitoes came out, followed by the bats.  The bats, even though a full moon, did not bother me, but the mosquitoes seemed to get about a quart of blood.

Dave, if you’re able to make it out on Sunday evening, I’ll make sure all the hooks are sharpened up and I’ll have insect repellent handy too! Hope you can come.