Crystal Moment

 

 

 

6-25-05 Hiwassee River Trip Report
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Last week I fished Little Rock Island for the first time in a long time. I fished with Shakey and we only stayed until 6. Over the last year my arthritis has been such a problem that I haven't fished as hard as I used to. This week I was supposed to fish Saturday morning with my brother, but he couldn't make it. I psyched myself up and resolved that I would try Little Rock Island by myself, and stay late.

I got up there close to 3 pm, had taken my time, watched smallmouth at Big Lost Creek, and taken a short diversion to the Rock Garden to look for Rose Bud Orchids. A few years back I saw one, always like to check when I get in that area in June.

Since I was by myself, I wore a pfd vest and kept it belted, on Beverly's insistence. I also carried a wading staff with me. A friend of mine made it for me years ago. It has marks on it to measure fish, and that's all I used it for this trip, but I'll probably start carrying it when I go by myself.

I started above the shoals like last week. I only hooked one fish, and lost it, before I moved down to the big shoals. I had lost a good brown neaar an exposed rock last week, and worked my way over to that spot. I lost a fish, caught a 10" rainbow, then a 10" brown. Things were going well, so I stayed there. My next fish was a nice 12" rainbow, and the next was an 11. I had caught 4 in that area, and was quite comfortable, so I kept at it. I retrieved a cast up close along a current seam and let the isonychia nymph swim in the current while I started to count to 30 before I picked up. My persistence was rewarded with a take from a 13-1/2" rainbow. I fished a run off to the side and got a 10 incher. That made a limit there in that one spot.

I was retrieving another cast when I felt a splash and a kayaker whizzed by my left elbow. He had cut between me and a rock about 3' away. In my old age I've developed some tolerance for these folks, but I unloaded on this moron. His girlfriend came by right behind him and was apologetic, and I was probably too harsh with her. There's a possibility she may have been a decent human being. Those folks should be more careful, what with hooks flying around and all.

I started moving over to the right and hung on a log. I knew it was there, it's been there for years, but it slipped my mind. I broke off and rerigged a tippet, isonychia nymph, and bb spilt shot.

I was at a shallow place where I sometimes wade down to the next ledge, and I fished as I waded down. I got on an energetic rainbow, got her close, and she came out of the water and left my leader wrapped around my rod with the fly swinging in the breeze. I've never been good at counting turns for skaters, divers, gymnasts and such, but I think she did a triple somersault. I don't know how judges keep up with these things.

The next fish I had on was the only other brown I had on all day, and I lost it close, almost close enough to call a keeper. I lost a 3rd fish as I waded on, and it occured to me that maybe I should check my fly. Nothing wrong with the fly, sometimes I just lose fish.

I worked my way back across the ledge above the island. Sometimes really big fish are there, but I got nothing. I went to the bank for a potty break.

When I waded back in I moved to a pocket above a rock that I always like to check. I've caught a lot of nice fish there, including an 18" rainbow. I always fish it carefully, and I finally got a strike. It was not a big fish, 11 incher, but it was fat and strong. He went across the ledge and headed down through the heavy rapids, and I was debating whether the fish was worth following, or if I should just stay where I was and chance the fish pulling off.

I looked downstream and I was stunned. I remembered a couple of lines from a poem, don't recall the title or author. Something like "Once or twice this side of death, things can make one hold his breath." The rainbow was suspended broad side in a standing wave. I could see the fish twisting and shaking its head, trying to dislodge the hook, framed by the standing wave like it was in a fish bowl. Trout are beautiful, and life is a blessing.

After that I really didn't want to lose that fish. He took off again, and I used a trick I sometimes use on fish in heavy current. I held my rod out sideways with the tip just above the water, and let the fish hug the bottom rather than bringing him to the surface. At every opportunity, I coaxed him upstream. I finally swung him around me to the side and got him upstream, brought him to the top, and let him float back to cradle in my hand. Nice fish.

With a smile on my face, I worked on down to the ledge above the bluff. It was after 6, and the raft and kayak traffic had dropped off a lot. The fishing usually gets better then also. I lost a fish, then landed a nice 12 incher. Nice, but 12 inchers were not what I had stayed late at Little Rock Island for. I lit a pipe and moved over a little.

Because of some of my medication, I sunburn easily and have to use a lot of sunscreen. Some of it seemed to have made its way to my left eye, and it started burning a little. I got a vicious strike. At the end of one of my blinks, I got a glimse of the end of a jump by what appeared to be a good fish. He came back up and rolled, and was obviously worth the effort to beach. I started working across the ledge toward an eddy where I had beached a lot of good fish before, blinking as I went. I dumped my pipe out to simplify things, I was having trouble puffing and wading and blinking and fighting a good fish.

In a little time the fish was beached on the grass, and I measured him against the marks on my wading staff. 14 incher. Now that's what I came to Little Rock Island for. He swam off to grow, and I fished the lower end of the pool. I noticed that since I had put my pipe out my eyes weren't burning. Could it be my pipe? I thought hard to find a reason to reject such an idea. Finding none, I rejected it on general principle, couldn't be the pipe. I got another 10 incher.

It was getting late and I wanted to finish up at the next pool, so I climbed up to the tracks and moved down. I ate the last of my honey bun for an energy boost, and climbed back down and waded back in.

Casting far across and stripping out line to swing across the bottom of the pool, I lost one and caught 3. That made 14, 2 limits, and I decided to call it a good day and hike out.