These guys stayed dry.
This is an ironic and unplanned follow up to my previous post. On Sunday, I was the Accidental Angler. No, I did not catch lots of fish by accident. I did manage to catch a few on purpose, but that was after my accident. This post could also be titled: Spey Tips…”Cast, then watch your step”.
I like to walk my swings when I am fishing water where I know my fly needs a little help to get deep and move slow. When one is walking down a well-lit gravel run, sand bar or water you know by heart, this is a legitimate tactic. When one is working down a boulder strewn ledge, on the dark side of a canyon, in weak winter light, caution is due. I let my fishing fever get the better of me and I stepped into a watery void. I found the big hole in my Simms waders. It’s on the top where you pull them on. My feet found no bottom, but I managed to kick and flounder up the ledge and crawl out. “Did you go over?” my buddies called. “A little bit.” I hedged. To my credit, I managed to finish out the run. You must understand that a year ago, I had moved a brown off that run that appeared to be pushing 30”. He’s been on my mind for a while and will likely remain on my mind for some time to come.
Not a good winter swimming hole.
I eventually hauled out on a big boulder like a dyspeptic sea lion and rolled down my waders to unload about a gallon of water. I also peeled off my socks and fleece pants, to ring out as much moisture as I could, while standing barefoot on the snow. I was damp in the middle and soggy below the knee for the remainder of the day, but we fished until dark. Wearing 100% synthetic fibers under Gore Tex made my day bearable. I’m not going to lie and say that I was perfectly comfortable all day, but I’ve actually fished less comfortably many times. I still relished the day which fortunately turned out quite mild for late November in Montana. We had fun catching trout on the swing and that was no accident.
Fred’s Spey Tip:
Cast and then step should be modified to: Cast and then watch your step.
Fun Fact: Until Sunday, I managed to go 14 months without soaking a cell phone.
