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Failed angler confesses life of piscatorial flops
Somewhere between the cloudy waters of Chub Ditch and blue ribbon mountain streams, I took a wrong turn. Learning to fish was supposed to hone character and cleanse the soul. There is nothing more masculine, more all-American, more Montanan than becoming an expert angler. Here follows the confession of an angler left behind. The Huck Finn I once was never outgrew fishing but fishing outgrew him. Fishing introduced me to a new world, a world of flash and wonder, murky mystery and electric connections. The watery world interfaced with this ocean of air at the surface of every creek, pond and river. Fishing line was the telegraph wire that communicated between the two. My first freshwater rig consisted of a willow pole, three yards of line, a bobber and a hook. I transmitted a cricket and waited for an answer.
Chubs making a comeback at Strawberry
During the C.A.S.T. (Catch a Special Thrill) event held on Strawberry this past Saturday, I had the opportunity to take a look at the chub population in the Soldier Creek portion -- and the picture wasn't a pretty one. "We've been catching fish right and left," said George Sommer, current president of the TBF Bass Federation, "but all we've caught are adult chubs." It was a fact that the area Sommer and his C.A.S.T. participants were fishing showed a water column littered with adult chubs, that swarmed each bait as it fell towards the bottom. "We thought the cuts (cutthroats) would be biting," continued Sommer, "but we can't seem to get through all the chubs." The same story was repeated several times Saturday. Each time I approached a boat, my fish finder came alive with schools of chubs, which were confirmed as I moved slowly through the shallows so that the chubs became visible to the naked eye.
Fishing the Carson River
Every fisherman will tell you that they have a special trick that works for them. We got up early this morning and met Johnson Lane resident David Small just north of Broken Dam to do a little fishing. David says his trick is a 4-pound test line with a Panther Martin lure that has a gold flasher. He worked with my daughter Jenee and showed her how to cast out and then immediately start reeling the lure back in. If you cast upstream, you reel in kind of fast. If you cast downstream you let the river provide the action and you reel in slower. What a wonderful fishing trip this was. My daughter caught and released three fish. I lost count after David caught and released 15. All the fish they caught were much too little for dinner.
We were fishing with several other fishermen today.
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