Fly Fishing in
Here are my notes related to my fly fishing trips to
After a hard day's fishing, I may still have a moment of not
coming back to
* For reference, here are two web pages I found on the net, written by someone who used the guide in fishing in the south island:
http://www.phy.duke.edu/~fortney/tours/fishing/nz_1993/index.html
http://www.phy.duke.edu/~fortney/tours/fishing/nz_1997/
(There are many nice pictures with interesting commentaries for entertainment.)
* Please note that I did not mention the location I fished in this file. The fishing pressure is getting higher every season, and hope prospective fisherman understands the reasons why, especially when he does it a hard way.
Contents
Year 2001........................................................................................................................................ 2
Trip Summary......................................................................................................................... 2
Highlights:............................................................................................................................... 2
Insights gained from Mr. Les Hill (General):.................................................................................... 3
Spotting the Fish..................................................................................................................... 3
Flies, Lines, etc....................................................................................................................... 4
Casting.................................................................................................................................... 4
Fighting the Fish..................................................................................................................... 5
Netting the Fish...................................................................................................................... 5
Our Mental Posture............................................................................................................... 5
Few Memorable Moments............................................................................................................ 5
* There is a Way! (Lessons Learned)................................................................................... 5
* Bumblebees in the Valley................................................................................................... 6
* Fishing with Les................................................................................................................... 7
* Few Memorable Catches.................................................................................................... 7
Miscellaneous................................................................................................................................ 8
* Few More Reminders for the Year 2,002.......................................................................... 8
Year 2,002....................................................................................................................................... 9
Trip Summary......................................................................................................................... 9
Highlights:............................................................................................................................... 9
Few Memorable Moments.......................................................................................................... 10
Fishing with Les and John.................................................................................................... 10
Jumping 7-Pound Fish.......................................................................................................... 11
Spotting the Fish................................................................................................................... 11
A day's outing with Ian......................................................................................................... 12
Few Haiku............................................................................................................................. 13
Miscellaneous.............................................................................................................................. 13
Areas of Improvement/Some mental notes......................................................................... 13
Accommodations................................................................................................................... 14
Reminders for the Year 2,003.............................................................................................. 14
Year 2,003 Travel Plan......................................................................................................... 15
This is the reflection on my fourth year of fishing trip to
I fished for about 20 days and caught on average 2+ fish a day of brown trout, averaging 4-6 pounds (max. about 8-9 pounds). This number is fewer than the previous visits in 2,000 and 1,999 but more than my 1st visit in 1998. The region I visited is about the same. I got more rain at the beginning just like four years ago but the weather improved later.
· If a good guide may help his client to catch 4 fish a day, my record of 2+ fish/day may be considered fine as I fished alone most of the time.
·
The highlight of the trip is the fishing with
Les Hill, a well-known author and a skillful fisherman for 1.5 days. The
weather was good and we caught 7 (spotted 15) the first day, and 4 the second
half day. This fishing was arranged almost by accident through Dave - my friend
I acquainted with in my previous visits and lives in a "
· #1 importance is spotting the fish (However, blind fishing may be used as appropriate. It is an issue of balance/strategy/optimization, depending on various factors, e.g., sun, wind, backdrop.)
· The first cast is the most important one. Perhaps, the first cast catches 50% of the fish.
· This ties to his less emphasis on gears such as reel, line, rods, etc. With fishing of 60 days a year or so, his leader lasts for two years.
· Wading shoes may not be necessary in most rivers in NZ. A light, sturdy hiking boots may be fine along with breathable wading pants.
· Still water fishing is done mostly in a stalked manner. Sight fishing is the basic principle.
· Les likes socializing aspect of trout fishing. So, most of the time, he goes fishing with friends. He does not guide for fee. (He says he catches more if he is alone because of fewer disturbances from other anglers… and perhaps more focus/attention on fishing.)
· First, find the lie where it is likely to hold the fish. This process should reduce unnecessary time spent on trying to find the fish in the unlikely areas.
· Look for the depth for the fish to hide or escape is available nearby. If there is no deep water nearby, perhaps there is no fish. (There are always exceptions.)
· Think of lateral and vertical "sheer" where the velocity of water changes suddenly. The fish should be at the quiet water next to the flow of food/ insects. Lateral sheer indicates the spot like eye of the pool. Vertical sheer is found after the rock/obstruction where fish stays at the bottom. A fish in front of the rock may be in the position of lateral or vertical sheer.
· In certain rivers, notice the brownish and whitish rocks at the bottom. Brownish rock indicates stable rocks/stones and vegetation/algae growth correspond to insect and thereby more trout to feed on them. Whitish rock indicates less numbers of vegetation/insect, corresponding to recent flooding/fresh water. (Three different categories of rivers: M: stable, G: somewhat unstable, A: very unstable….Yet all rivers hold fish fine…)
· Fish generally do not like the sandy bottom. (Exception may be the deep-er pool.) It prefers rocky area. Fish likes "Obstruction" of flow and vegetation/insect, i.e., less energy to get the food.
· Consider the glare and decide the angle of vision to spot the fish. Also, the exposure to the fish at the bank will determine fisherman's standing position in relation to the river. Angler may walk like W shape manner so that the access to the river is done in a periodic manner thereby reducing the chance of being spotted by the fish first.
· To decide to walk one side of the river or the other, we may consider the backdrop as well. Walking on the west side of the bank in the morning may be fine if we can use the shade of the mountain in the eastern sky.
· When we get into the shade of trees or mountain from the sunny side, we should be able to see fish well.
· When fish is in the direction of the sun, the shade of fish is dark. Sometimes, fish and rock's shade may overlap. If we see the fish from the sunny side, we see fish's color - lighter.
· Of course, movement of the fish is the final clue.
· One does need to learn "patience" to spot the fish. Walk very, very slowly where needed.
· Les likes double taper line (less impact on water compared to weight forward line.)
· Fly tying is basic "Clinch Knot" Just 4-5 turns and through the eye. Leave 1/4 in. hanging. That is all. With this one needs no need to use clipper to untie the knot - just nail will do.
· Selection of flies are not usually so critical. Dry: Humpy- red, green, Royal Wulff, Blue bottle(House fly pattern), Adams, Dad's favorites. Nymph: Hare and copper, Pheasant tail, Prince, Stonefly, Bead-headed ones. Both are with perhaps size 12-14…
· Leader construction: Use Maxima 2kg and 3 kg (green color) for tippet (tippet of say 4-6X, etc. may be weak, and expensive.) Leave extra lines like brunches to attach dry, nymph, etc. at two levels about 1m apart to accommodate necessary adjustment to fit to the condition.
------/--------/------->
· Perhaps, attach large dry fly first followed by small dry fly or nymph if two flies are used.
· If fish is interested, it can chase the fly. So, if the fish is feeding, the depth of fly or accuracy of casting may not be as critical. (I learned this in many cases.)
· With back wind, leader may be 14 feet long. At head wind, perhaps, it is rod length.
· The first cast is most critical!!!
· Cast from the distance to avoid the fish to notice the angler. There has to be a good balance between this concern and the accuracy of cast and potential impact of influence of the surface movement of water when casting from distance.
· One can false cast several time and measure distance.(gradually add the distance). or perhaps cast on the side to measure as well. (Casting with wide loop may help to do this. Also, it may have softer landing if wide loop is possible to apply.)
· Where possible, cast from the position where we can see the fish. If not possible, have references of stones, etc. to identify the location of fish.
· When blind casting, do this in a combing manner. One has to move quickly to cover more water if we blind cast for obvious reason.
· Remember the cone of fish's vision on top. (Let the fly flow out of the vision before lift up.)
· When letting the line out before casting, that is when we often tangle up the line. Make sure the swing of rod is forceful - not half-hearted. Use water's drag to pull off line from the reel.
· When fly is caught in the tree in the water for example, just break off the line and cast another fly. It is not worth retrieving the line and fly with the risk of spooking the fish.
· When a fish is identified ahead, make sure to cover the area (perhaps blind cast) before casting to this fish so that there are no other fish that may be spooked and scare the fish ahead as if causing the chain reaction.
· After some trial, if fish is not interested, make proper judgment and simply move ahead instead of staying around the fish. Most likely, fish is not interested. (Perhaps 15-20 minutes may be the maximum to try on one fish.)
· When there are several fish in a quiet pool, it is difficult to not to spook. It may be that many are spooked while one fish may be left to be aimed at.
· Let him go first. But as soon as possible, try to shorten the line to gain more control. We can do this by waking close to the fish.. perhaps.
· Lead the fish to the area for landing. Perhaps lead to a shallow water and apply side pressure.
· Not let the fish to go down stream….pull it up(as much as possible)
· With Maxima line, we can play the fish harder and more aggressive than other tippets. (This helps for fish to recover when released.)
·
Use a large net (as designed by Les, for
example). My net made in
· Use short holding stem rather than using the long one in order to apply the force.
· Go under the fish. Scoop from the tail (different to the conventional way.)
· Patience (as he was taught by his father…)
· Practice…
· Some people have the sense. Others may not…. (Re: Intuitive sense)
· Fishing may be a social thing.
Les told me a very interesting story of catching a fish at
Most fishermen do not notice such a tactic. They go straight to the stream outlet and start casting a fly and perhaps gradually retrieving it - never thinking of spotting the fish in such a situation. This is a "fixed minded" approach of fishing - so I thought. We need to observe patiently about where we are. For Les, the process is intuitive. He just does it without thinking about it. There is a difference here that may apply to many situations in life. We do not have to have a guide to catch a fish in NZ, we do not have to hire helicopter to catch a fish, or we do not have to have pictures on the wall. If I say more, we do not have to have money, fame, title etc. to be happy. There are infinite ways to proceed, live our life… A reminder for me is; confined/conditioned mind and happiness may not mix well.
At this remote valley I found three years ago, I can fish alone over 4 miles of river. This is still unbelievable for me - making this as one of the reasons that I come back to this country for fishing. This was the third year I came back to this valley with river, trout and various animals and plant lives. Here, I found a family living. I will not disclose the location as Les and I agree that we want the place to be unspoiled by the crowd - if possible.
By the way, I found that Les and I have two places we fish
in common, one in M (another remote place where I usually camp three-four
nights in the beginning of my trip whereas Les goes there every year during the
first weekend of the season.). And, the other is this valley. Perhaps, that is
the reason that I finally met Les even though it took long hours of driving
from
Certainly, there are memories in the valley with more added this time. For example, Dave and I went for hunting an eel in the rain and BBQ-ed it as an appetizer. I made a smoked trout in the fireplace in the upper hut and shared with all. Dave gave me the deer antler as souvenir for me. Also, I met Dianne this year again who works to collect a type of moss there. And, she is the one who reminded bumblebees I mentioned last year.
Dave said that frogs disappeared in the valley perhaps due to ozone layer problem. But after the rain, I found bumblebees abundant at the south end of house just like last year. They were busy collecting the honey from the fuchsia flowers. Blue sky, white clouds, flowers, and busy bumblebees bring smile to me. It is as it is and they are as they are, expressing themselves as best as they can. (oblivious to worries of humans…) Until that afternoon however, I did not see many bees perhaps due to the rain. But that afternoon, I was surprised to smell the nectar of flowers in the air so vividly as I walked back from the fishing. Bees were certainly there without missing the beat.
I remember Ryokan's writing: When flower blooms, bee arrives. It is a nature's wonder. It is as it is. There is something that make me wonder as I compare the difference of life we conduct as human to the life of bumblebees, trout, etc…. I cannot reproduce the pictures of bumblebees, the scenery of swinging grass in the setting sun, etc. here. But they are there….and it is the eye of Eckhart or Saint-Exupery to see IT and experience IT….it is as if bumblebees are talking to me like that. And.. it appears that pictures of Les I find in his books are pointing the same thing without human words but….just pointing it.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
- Antoine De-Saint-Exupery
When I asked Les to show me how he catches the fish, in two occasions that I remember, he caught the fish at his first cast. The cast was precise and handling of fish was smooth. The first cast was against the fairly hard wind with tree brunches in the back. I hesitated then and asked if he would show me how. He cast at ease without much hesitation to the brunches in the back. Fly landed on the water, and as it flew down with the current, the fish came up from the depth to take this dry fly. For me, it was like seeing the magic. The second occasion happened in the second day. After I got a fish in a hole after several casts, he went on to catch the next fish but with a single precise cast. I still wonder if that was because wind died down then or his skills. The fish he caught was about 6.5 pounds like mine and we were like children to celebrate the success.
I also remember him using my net to land the fish, except that the net I owned was small compared to his net, which was designed by him. Anyway, after having some difficulty of using my net to land this fish, he finally decided to catch the fish's tail with his hand. He then put the fish into the net afterward. It was like a movie scene. It is no wonder why it took so much time for me to use my small net to land these big brown trout. It is much easier to pull up the fish to the beach than using my net.
Socializing is a main part of his fishing. Most of the time, he goes fishing with his friends. While I fished by myself thus far in NZ, I also see how it may be done. He has many friends to fish every year. Perhaps, my friend, Gary, may join me next year to my fishing trip to NZ. As Les fishes, he records the catch, monitor the water temperature along with many more items like size, location of catch, condition of fish, weight, fly taken, river flow condition, etc. I remember him summarizing these statistics in one of his books. In the next few years, Les plans to build a house to retire there. He has still much more water to fish. He like taking photos (He gave me a book full of his photos, called Images of Silver - with his comments "Good fishing Kio and remember the importance of patience"). I am very happy that I had a nice fishing experience with him. Thank you, Les, and hope we will have a nice fishing expedition next year!!!
1. 8-9 Pound Fish
The fish was found in between the rocks where the flow of water was smooth for the fish to be. A perfect flow, but I could see only a glimpse of the fish. With small brown nymph (size 18) I made the night before, he took the nymph at the first cast. The fish was strong but I could not see the whole fish until later. At the beginning, the fish stayed at the bottom - a good sign of a big fish. When she moved, she went upstream instead of typical fish which has a tendency of going down stream. Then, it stayed at the bottom again. Sand flies started to attack me as I applied the side pressure to this fish, waiting her to be tired. Finally, the fish made a 300 yard dash downstream with me running after her with more than 100 yards backing line out of the reel. After a long chase, this "hen" was caught in the shallow. I then realized that it took 1.5 hours to finish the fight.
2. Catching a 4-5 pound fish in a 4-inch-deep pool
There was a cruising fish in this shallow and very clear
pool. At about several minutes interval, he cruised around the pool picking
some small insects on the surface here and there. I was on the sandy bank
flattening myself so that the fish does not detect me when he was near. As fish
turns, I had a moment to cast a fly. First, with bigger fly of
It stayed on the surface for a minute or two before the fish came nearby. While I could not see my tiny fly on the water some 20 yards away, I could guess what that was when the fish gulped something on surface with confidence. I know that I do not rush to strike in such smooth, slow moving water. Mentally counting three or four and imagining to picture the motion of his jaw slowly closing, I pulled rather gently the line but firmly held the rod to find the fish was caught well on this tiny hook.
At this moment, he showed a big surprise and created a major
splash in his attempt to run a way from the hook with no avail. While I was
quite confident to catch this fish and finally was able to rise from the flat
position on te ground, what surprised next was
something unforgettable. When the fish run away about 50 yards, I found that my
flyline attached to the backing line became untied. Something similar happened
when I caught the first king salmon in
Of course, if this happened when I was fighting that nine-pound fish just a day ago, I would have lost not just the fish but my entire fly line (Come to think about it, I did not bring the spare line in this trip.). With many mistakes we make in fishing, and loud curses uttered here and there, we the fishermen become somewhat desensitized to many surprises. As I reel in the line with little hope that the fish is still there, I realized that the fish was still connected at the other end after this short break. He was hiding under the tree but I could pull him back to the pool with this thin nylon line. Then, it was just another five minutes before the fish was landed on the sands with this tiny fly in his mouth. Phew… Yes, I remember that it was a sunny day with warm sun in my back.
· A separate bag for daily use items to be packed. This helps to reduce searching time. Items included may be: Swiss knife, plate, cup, fork/knife/spoon, toothbrush/paste, burner, condensed milk in tube,/chocolate, washing liquid in tube, medicine/ibuprofane.
· Use Maxim 2 and 3 kg line.
· Make more hare and copper nymph (heavily weighted). No need to bring small fly box.
· Bring 6-7 Frozen dried dinner may be enough for camping purpose. (Buy Ramen in Pack and Save, eat small trout)
This is the reflection on my fifth year of fishing in
I fished for 21 days and caught (hooked) on average 4 fish a day of brown trout, averaging 3-5 pounds. This is an excellent result and may not be repeated easily. The biggest fish was about 7 pounds. The weather was perfect with only few days of rain. Also, there were only few days of overcast days that made it difficult to spot the fish. While there was a heavy rain in Dec. and Jan., when I visited, the river was at the lowest level I have seen in the last five years.
While fishing, I felt a pain in my back on two occasions. Ibupropane helped to reduce the pain, but I needed time to rest. Fishing is a tough sport (contrary to some people's belief) and I need to be careful in not stretching out too much. Correctly casting, building up the strength by exercise prior to the visit, and being attentive to the mind-body condition are the must. The pain was stronger. Also, in facing the increasing fishing pressure in general, I need to strategize where to go, while appreciating the moment that I can do this.
· Catching 4 fish a day on average was excellent. (This time, I counted here as Les did, i.e., not the numbers of landed fish but the ones hooked. I believe about 70% of those hooked are landed.) I even had one day when I caught 11 fish a day (landed 8 or 9). This is my best record (the previous record was 6 fish a day - landed.) Also, I caught fish everyday except one day when I could not cast the fly because of the strong wind. (Actually, 11 per day record was made following this high wind day. Perhaps, it was because insects were not active when the wind was blowing, and hence trout eager to feed the next day when they became active again.)
· I met Les Hill, a well-known author and a skillful fisherman, again for 1.5 days with his friend John. I caught perhaps 7 fish the first and 4 on the second day.
· I met Kevin. He is retired and lives in a motor home hidden in the woods of a firm during the entire summer. We met at the river, fished together and had a good time. We may fish together in the next season.
· Fishing at Dave's was fun (including the eel we smoked after catching in the middle of the night with his .22). Ian and I had a day's outing to pan the gold.
Following the last year, I fished together with Les again. This time was with Les's friend, John for 1.5 days. John and I took turn to fish while Les spotted the fish. The first day, we caught 15-17 fish and second day perhaps 10 between us. Les told me that such performance is quite excellent! Having spent time with him for the total of three days now, I feel I understand my weaknesses clearer. Thank you, Les and John! Having tea at the bank was fun as well.
- Casting
I found John to be much better fisherman than me. Especially obvious was his casting accuracy. The result was that he caught more fish especially in his first cast. My cast was much less accurate. While Les mentioned that my loop was as close/tight as John's, I felt my casting less forceful than John's - perhaps due to my concern of not spooking the fish. On the second day we fished, I used double taper line as John did to improve the accuracy, but he remained to be much better - and therefore, caught more fish. (By the way, John always cast to the side of the fish to measure the distance before presenting the fly to the fish - a good practice.)
What I think important is to cast to the specific spot with confidence and without being too fearful to spook the fish. In order to improve, I feel I need to develop more skill, be more forceful - especially in a windy situation. As Les comments that the first cast may have 50% probability of catching fish, I certainly need to work on this area. Another point of consideration may be the line/leader construction (use of 6lb line and the balance of tapered leader/8-6 lb line construction may be an important factor for getting good turn over). John uses Sage rod and my "cheap, noodle" rod could be a factor as well.
* John uses 6 lb line as tippet. With 6 lb line, you can fight the fish much better. As I tried later, fish did not seem to care if the line was 6 lb or 4 lb - especially in the river where the fishing pressure is not so high.
- Flies
John said that his favorite fly is Royal Wulff (red and green body). He seems to use Hare and Copper Nymph (fairly heavily weighted). Instead of this heavy fly that I thought may spook the fish, I came up with "sand fly nymph" with size 18 hook which I used successfully. But if the fish is low and not lured by my sand fly nymph, obviously heavy nymph is to be used. When the sun was high and water temperature up in the afternoon, I felt that we were successful with big dry flies like cicada and mole fly.
- Spotting the fish
As much as spotting is critical in catching fish in NZ, I especially tried to learn in spotting the fish. So, I asked Les to rate the spotting difficulty by from 1 to 10 with 10 being the most difficult to spot.
Here are examples:
Rating 1-3: Obvious contrast of color, brightness, movement, etc.
Rating 6: Fish-like shade with pelvic fin to distinguish that it is a fish.
Rating 6*: Brief movement of darker spot. (similar darkness as the surrounding)
Rating 7: A smudge lying in depression, and its subtle movement
Rating 7*: Fish's color is the same as the surroundings. Yet, there is a discernible outline of fish's body shape as well as its vague movement
Rating 8.5: Movement of fish's nose on top of the rock is the only clue, there is no clear contrast to distinguish that it is a fish
Rating 9: Deep water, fish located at the edge of the shelf, only discernible when there is a window of flat water passing briefly over the dark smudge, brief movement as fish take food
(* These are added to the list after I departed from Les.)
As I remember now, it was fun to try to find the fish after
Les spotted them. In two examples at
rating 8.5 and 9, it took
meperhaps ten minutes to find these fish after being told that
there are fish at those ratings. This
year again, I recall Les re-emphasizing the use of "backdrop" to help
spot the fish. Also, he reinforced that
we walk in a proper manner so that fish does not spot us first before we spot
them. Other pointer I remember now is
that "Fish like to be near the large stones."
As I fished together with Kevin, we came across a quiet pool below the long run of rapids. There was a bush on the other side, and deep water below it. It was about 25 yards away and hard to guess what was in the water from where I stood. Guessing that there must be a fish, I cast a heavy nymph attached to the dry fly (about 5-6 feet below). Double-hauled on a weight forward line, the flies landed on the main slow flow of this pool - about three feet from the opposing bank. Perfect spot, so I thought. From a far, I saw the dry fly gradually drifting.
Then, a little pause of the fly. I immediately lifted my rod. Having a long distance with nymph attached to a long leader, the strike has to be immediate. The fish on the other side of the line was strong. Violently showing his anger, this fat and heavy fish jumped up like a rocket, perhaps 6 feet into the air and landed on the water making a huge splashing noise. Such a scene I have never seen before. In spite of the impact upon hitting the water, the hook was well set to his jaw. After some moment, he jumped again into the air just like the first one!
I am sure he was quietly feeding on nymphs in this quiet pool until this surprise overtook him. When this fish was beached after some fifteen minutes, Kevin asked me if I had a camera to take a photo. After taking many pictures of trout, however, I have stopped taking photos any more. It is best if the fish goes back to the water without any delay. Also, carrying camera adds more weight for my long day's hike. In any case, the fish had a strong and healthy look, perhaps weighing 7 pounds or more. Feeling a bit guilty in creating a disturbance in this quiet pool, I released this big brown trout without much delay. "Take care of yourself. Hope the best!"
Disturbance on the water often makes the situation difficult to spot the fish. However, I realized that if I am patient, even with my nearsighted eyes, I can have a very brief moment (even less than 0.01 sec) to reveal what it is that I am watching at. This is especially so when the calm water passes to open a window of opportunity. So, we can be patient, change the viewing angle, standing position, etc. to improve the odds of finding the fish.
I gained this realization when I had a back pain so that I had to walk the river at a very slow pace. The sun was high and there was no cloud in the sky. All of a sudden, I started to see many fish (in this obviously trout populated river). The result was to catch four fish in one pool at the tail end and two more at the top of the same pool. Later, when I caught 11 fish in a day, it was due to a combination of factors as I reflect now. They are:
- weather (clear sky on the day of fishing - easy to spot),
- location (very remote location of a good trout river, and good lie that seemed to hold the fish - long ruffled water/rapids followed by a nice "glide" - a laminar flow where the flow is easy for the fish to not to consume energy and food are flowing constantly)
- feeding condition (high wind the day before - fish are feeding well - also not spooked)
- patience, and confidence
When I recall the places I fished with Les, and the way I got my record catch of 7, 7, 9, 11 fish a day, most of these factors were satisfied. (high wind condition the day before may be replaced by the fresh rain). Also, interestingly, numbers of the catch was concentrated in a rather small area, e.g., just a few pools. As I remember catching 7 fish in a narrow area but only one fish on the other side, I feel that choosing the "lie" may be a critical factor in catching many fish - if that is our concern.
After meeting him and his family last year, we met again in this season. Everyone in his family seemed to be doing fine. He is a coal miner with a long years of experience in spin fishing. Last year, he took me to a creek, where the access was not easy for strangers. Also, one evening, he showed me a blue flame of fire burning in the open at his coal mine. (Apparently, air is flowing from somewhere to this coal mine to keep the fire going for many years.) This year, he took me to a river gorge where he used to hunt for gold before.
The memorable thing was not just its clear blue water and several trout quietly cruising around, but the way he collected the gold specks. As soon as we arrived there through woods without any sign of trail, he started to remove the moss from the hollow areas of the rock together with the sands. Then, he showed me to use the pan to find the gold out of it. According to him, the flood brings the gold and deposits them on the rock where the moss grows on. Such floods are common here where the water rushes through the narrow after the heavy rain.
I have never seen anyone panning for the gold before. Each panning process took about ten minutes. Using the water and throwing away the light sands and stones by skillfully moving the pan, he showed me bright shining gold specks in the pan in his first attempt. They were about one quarter inch or less in diameter and very thin - about fifteen of them. Yet, they were in the black sands, which he thinks is an iron composite. He also collected two small stones of Garnet (spell?), which is like a relative of a ruby as I understand.
The access to this spot was not easy. Sand flies were many, especially when we stay in one spot to pan the gold. But, I managed to hook one fish in this day. Then, he gave me a bottle of gold specks from this day's excursion as souvenir. (Last year, I brought back a sample of coal, which is estimated to be 42 million years old.) As we ate the trout I caught the day before*, which Runnar smoked for us, we had a good laugh from exchanging various stories in our lives. At one occasion, Toni said; "We tend to collect many things as we live, except that what we really needs are not that many. We can live a basic simple life without accumulating so many things." Looking at their house being much simpler than mine, her words left with me a strong impression. Instead of conducting a simple life, are we not making our life unnecessarily complex to overburden us after all?
* (By the way, this was the only trout I ate in this trip. Otherwise, my usual practice is "catch-and release")
In the clear water,
A large brown takes a nymph
in silence
Flying into the sky,
A mayfly hatch goes on,
This sunny afternoon
Turning around,
Trees and flowers were watching
this lone fisherman
Heavenly valley,
Rivers run, and birds sing
in eternity
- I spooked the fish unexpectedly. Need to scan all areas of water every now and then before concentrating on the specific areas.
- Miscasting, too much error especially for the first cast.
- Miscast to hook brunches, grass, etc. when back casting. Be aware of the whole setting, not just fish up front.
- Be able to cast over the left shoulder with accuracy.
- Some knot broke loose. Work on blood knot, sergeant knot, and make sure to confirm the strength by testing.
- Reduce miscast of showing the fly line to the fish.
- Work on the timing of the strike, especially dry flies. (Still too fast, in general in quite a few occasions) "Watching" the way the fish takes the fly should give me a clue to picture how fish's jaws are closed. Be prepared to not get surprised (i.e., not to react) when fish make a noise when it takes a dry fly. (Note that some big fish seems to suck the fly from under the water without poking his nose into the air.
- After the strike and fish is on, make sure to keep the firm pressure on the line! (6 lb line may help to do this.)
- Needs to keep adjust the line length depending on the wind condition.
- Fishing is a mental game. "Be alert" as if soldiers at war, the better the performance. (It is like meditation with awareness and equanimity…) As much as patience is a prerequisite, being alert but knowing when to take a rest seems to be a skill by itself. Not just mechanically move as if controlled by the conditioned mind habit.
- No regret, no frustration, no false expectation, and not fish to tell a story for others. Enjoy the sound of birds, and trees, sky, water, etc. around.
- Learn/find the master's way. Practice it. Live with it - whatever, whenever…
I camped for 9 nights, stayed in the hut for 4 nights, and home stay for 9 nights. The last night at a hot spring ($40/night) was a total luxury.
· Bring a bigger boots - not wading boots (or in addition to wading boots) considering the amount of walk I do.
· Make more hare and copper nymph (heavily weighted). Also, sand fly nymph("Kio's Favorite"). Perhaps, 15 each.
· Bring 6-7 Frozen dried dinner may be enough for camping purpose.
· Mend my gloves (connect to sleeves, tighten the opening of the finger area), fix holes of the green shirts
· Bring garlic for camping, restock ibupropane pills, make an itch eraser (ammonia) in a small container, spray tent to be more water resistant, fix holes (tent, wader socks- pacific fly)
· Flies that worked in 2002 season: Nymph: Kio's Favorite (sand fly nymph), Hare and Copper, (Bring more stone fly, perhaps heavily weighted). Dry flies: Humphy (red and yellow.. try green next time?), Royal Wulff, Blue bottle, Black gnat, Cicada, Mole fly. Also, Ms. Simpson (streamer) and Adams (dry).
· Leader construction: I need to work on tying the blood knot more quickly - leaving the branching lines for about four inches - to tie the additional fly as needed.
· Work on my casting accuracy - less than a foot error at 30-40 feet casting range - in the wind….
· Dave's place to be confirmed in Jan. for Feb. 1,2 (Lower hut), 3.4.5.6. (Top hut), and 7,8 (Lower hut) -- Les needs to be reminded to fish together for the first week of February, perhaps call him in Dec. 2,002.
· Shall I visit in November 2002, i.e., at the beginning of the season. (Weather may be a question - but possible to more fresh fish.)