Spring Break 2016 Chapter III

Older guy is going to paddle north this year.  About time.  When the hint was made that the younger guy isn't quite ready there was some marked disappointment; maybe some tears.  My construct was a weekend outing then in which he would be the focus; a special trip for him.  Dad guiding; big brother hanging out with Mom.  At the start of this outing he was 3268 days or 8.95 years on Earth. Following are some photos and captions.

First day, first hole, first fish of day, first rainbow of his life.  Pretty excited.

I like these shots more than I like the grip and grins.  The Kid II well-positioned, following his flies down and around the corner.  I could look at that one for a long time.  We took some care here to work on flips and rolls.  No backcasts.

The country we're walking; country we love.  Will never get over fishing good water framed by outcrops and towering cliff faces.  Special place and I wanted him to be immersed in it without having to worry about competition or anything else.

There are a few places down here that have seemingly unending good water.  All day.  Just keeps coming.

Found half dozen of these.  

Wild onions with soup we carried into the woods.

He ended day one with seven trout to hand.  Many more hooked and LDRed.  He was born in 2007 and as such one can't expect him to put the hammer down on every fish he encounters.  I was impressed and happy for him.  I maintain that if he'd focused a bit more he may have had a 15-20 fish day.  But that's his personality - much lighter than mine - probably a good thing in the end.

Start of day two.  Money water.  Just full of fish.  I think he hooked 3-4 here.

This fish right here.  A special one.  He hooked and lost one.  Persisted, and few minutes later got this one to hand.  From the same water that gave his grandfather his first trout on a fly.  He recounts the matter.  

Favorite postcard here.

Another just ridiculous piece of water.  That seam between the current and the triangle resting water...   thick with S. trutta.

I think the biggest he landed. 

Old cut healing itself somewhat there on river right.  This entire river reach is good water and should never see heavy equipment or the mark of "improvement" by man.  Beautiful.  Full of fish.  Good habitat for fish and bugs.

This was memorable because he hooked a good number of fish from the main lanes of this water.  When he was done I took the rod and mended into the toughest-to-get-to lane which was right against the woody debris on the outside corner.  I told him there would be one fish there.  This was it.

Absolute coffin-trough full of trout right there.  He worked from near to far as one should do.

We used the tripond one time; looking for the grandeur of the cliffs as backdrop.

I think here he is studying relativity.  Giant colluvium.

Streamers do not need ribs; they do not need palmered hackle.  Tail.  Dubbed body.  Soft hackle collar.  At the walk-out point of our journey on day two, the boy took up a sword and went to work beating down last years husks and stalks on the floodplain.  I took about one hour and cast streamers.

This fish, in my observation, could be caught by approximately one means.  A favorite hole.  Woody debris parallel to the flow.  Drifted nymphs through; smaller fish.  The current and wood are configured such that a guy can't really strip a streamer through the heart of it all.  So it's the twitch drift of the streamer, under the indicator - not to indicate, but to regulate depth as the drift proceeds.  Cast upstream, mend into lane along wood.  Right before heart, one hard twitch.  Photo credit Kid II.

He got three fish to hand on day two for a total of ten.  Nine brown trout, and one rainbow.  All nymphing with tandem rigs under an indicator.  He was allowed to flip and roll.  He did well in initiating roll casts from either side of his body depending on how he stood relative to the current.  I think his biggest fish may have been 13 inches; it was for sure a strong 12.  His first serious trout fishing affair; will be remembered well.