Spotting Rainbows in the Sun

thick rainbow

 

"You can observe a lot just by watching."

    -Yogi Berra

 

I went back to a river on the prairies to sight fish again. It is always easy to get up early and make the long drive there...it's a special river. In the morning I had two large fish on and lost both on their initial run. Then in a ten minute time span three fish ate my fly but no hook up. I checked my fly. It looked alright. Before I knew it the sun was high, it was noon and no fish landed. It was kind of a repeat of the bad luck I had last weekend on this river when I missed two biggies. Then I got a refusal on a fish that was cycling in a pool. I thought I was going to get skunked. But I hung in there. Sometimes enthusiasm and persistence can "turn the tide"...in fishing and elsewhere.

wide open terrain

I started heading downstream. I eventually walked along a eight foot elevated bank on the outside turn of the river. The sun was at my back and I could see through the water's surface for quite a distance. In short time, I spotted a fish just downstream in inches of water. I had to make a direct downstream presentation and feed line. You only get one shot at a fish this way. He ate it, no hesitation. I paused before striking so as not to pull the fly out of his mouth. Hook-up! The rainbow stayed on. My luck had changed.

I continued walking and in about thirty yards or so I spotted another rainbow in very shallow water...same scenario...same presentation...the fish committed...hook-up! Once again it stayed on.



A little further downstream the river broadened into a flat. A rainbow was creeping upstream thirty feet out in the skinny water. Like the others it was blind (sun) to my presence. I casted from the shore almost perpendicular to the fish. It tipped up and ate...hook-up!

Where I was fishing is wide open territory with little cover like bushes or trees. With the sun out you are fully exposed. The place receives a lot of angling pressure so the fish are skittish. They are always on the look-out for anglers, Osprey and Pelicans. If they see movement above, they are gone, gone, gone. Sometimes the early or late day shadow of a cliff can hide you but otherwise you have to use positioning and the location of the sun to full advantage to see fish before they see you. Then you have a shot at them. That's if you are sight fishing. You also got to go slow, stay low and you don't want anything shiny on you. If they see a flash...game over!

The place demands the best of me. That's why I keep going back.



burnt reservation church