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In the River OSHINO  --Vol.58--

Good Response from Fish

The line crossed the stream. I felt its tension from the rod. I could not give the fly natural drift. It was sure no fish would bite my fly now. Hmm, but remember! My second brown trout or even the first one bit my fly when it was drifting unnaturally.

I had firmly believed that the best way to fish brown trout was to give the dry fly natural drift in the chalk stream. I had been desperate to do that in vain. But today I actually caught two beautiful brown trout although I failed in natural drift of the fly. Why?

Then the line stopped just down me. Probably it crossed the stream to the end. I drew out another 1m of line from the reel and cast it towards the keyaki tree root on the opposite bank downstream, worrying the line might go beyond the end of the pool.

Several seconds passed. When the fly was about to reach the centre of the stream I felt a bite “Gong” from the rod. It seemed that a living thing, not a twig or dust, pulled the line. Still half in doubt I raised the rod. But it did not move. I felt as if I had snagged at the bottom. Ah, I have hooked a twig?! That was what crossed my mind first.

The next moment, however, it ran downstream very powerfully. There were large splashes, too. A fish, a big one! My rod was nearly snatched. I tried hard to prevent that. Another several metres of line were drawn out of the reel. Then the fish stayed calm, swinging its head.
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A brown trout I had hooked was breaking the surface. It changed into a calm fish once it broke the surface.

A Game of Endurance

If the fish run farther it will go into the fast current downstream. What will happen if a big fish run down a heavy stream of the fast current after it caught the fly? I had had a lot of fishing experience of sweet fish in that situation. To follow the sweet fish I had to run down the fast current because the rod had no reel. It was hard work. But now the fly rod had a reel and a large amount of line in it. Even if the fish run down farther and farther I will be able to follow it at my pace without haste. It sounded much safer.

One problem was that I had to go on the embankment to follow the fish. If the fish passes under the suspending bridge just downstream, will I be able to walk under it, too?

Hmm, the river is deep and flows fast below the bridge. Is it a better solution for me to cross the bridge? No, the river is deeper and flows faster on the right bank. My conclusion was that I would not follow the fish if it passed under the bridge. I would be completely useless.

Those unlucky scenes rapidly crossed my mind and disappeared.

The fish struggled violently for a while. Then it came near to me and went down into the pool in front of me in the same way as my two brown trout. Good! I’ll catch it! But the next moment it stuck terribly fast to the bottom of the pool and would not move. The rod bent in such a large arc I had never seen. I was desperate to keep raising it. But the rod tip at the large arc end was as low as my eyes. I wondered whether the rod endured such a sharp bend. Every time the fish went down deeper, the rod tip was stuck into the water.

5 minutes passed. There was no sign that the fish lost its power. It sometimes moved but still stuck to the bottom. My left hand which sustained the rod became paralyzed and numbed. Sometimes I had to hold the rod with the right hand, and then the left hand again. I changed the hand more and more often. In the end both my hands felt like two sticks. How big is the fish? I remembered the brown trout I had seen in the early spring, then Taro, the master fish in Oshino.
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A brown trout I fished in early April. It caught Muddler Minnow, which became very popular later.

The White Lump

Is it Taro? No, He cannot go upstream over the barrier of artificial dam. Is it another big fish like Taro's brother? I remembered the pull of my second brown trout and its size. The pull now was much stronger, the strongest pull my fry rod had ever experienced. I expected a huge fish.

It was completely dark. I could not see through the water at all. I found almost all fly line had been rewound in the reel. That meant I had pulled the fish to me pretty well. Just one more try!

Praying that the line would not be cut off or the rod would not be broken, I continued to raise the rod. Finally I pulled up the fish near to the surface and ripples made by the fish spread on the surface. But the next moment the fish went down to the bottom again. The fish repeated ups and downs several times. Finally the dim shape of a white lump appeared on the surface.

I could not walk into the river because it became suddenly deep from the bank side. I fell on my knees on the bank and stuck out my right hand behind to raise the rod. It was the fishing style for flat crucian.

I managed to pull up the fish within my left hand’s reach but could not grab it easily. It was very fat. Every time I failed in grabbing I felt choked. At last I pulled it up with my finger in the fish mouth although I knew that might damage it.

There lay an extraordinary fat fish on the reeds in front of me in darkness. I found it more than 50cm at a glance. Its head was very small for its big body. Probably it was female, judging from the quiet-looking face. That was all I remembered. I was too excited to think any more.
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March 1st, 1976. The opening day of the fishing season in Oshino. I seldom met other anglers in the daytime.

Mystery

Waiting for my heart to calm down, I stood up and walked to my car near the Self-Defense Forces Bridge. Somehow I felt the suspending bridge swinging harder than usual.

I was still excited and could not think properly. I got it! I caught 3 beautiful brown trout in one evening. I felt as if I were in a dream. It was even beyond my wildest dreams.

Today I used a new fly that had never been put to the line. It did not float well but caused terrible drag. I caught those brown trout in a completely different way from ordinary dry fly fishing.

Why had I long been desperate to master natural drift? I could not see even the dim shape of the third brown trout when it bit the fly. Usually large splashes spread at the fly drifting spot when the fish bite the fly, as was the case of Taro. As for my third brown trout, however, there was no ripple or sign but suddenly I felt a strong bite from the rod.

"Just after the fish bite the fly they notice it is a fake and vomit it. That is why you should set up the fish as soon as they bite the fly or you will miss them."

That was the common knowledge of fly fishing I had heard so many times. Where had it gone?

Actually my third fish never vomited the fly but I felt the strong bite from the rod. The fish was a brown trout, which was said to be clever and the most difficult to catch. The fish was even the biggest among my 3 brown trout.

I realized that I got lost in a mysterious world I had never imagined. I anticipated a lot of things to deny all my learning was going to happen from now on.

-- To be continued --
2002/09/29  KEN SAWADA
Tranlated into English by Miyoko Ohtake