FIRST FISH

I’d like to say that the first fish was a trout caught on a dry fly. I’d like to but I can’t. In fact it was a stickleback caught in a jam jar on a piece of sting from a pond near my Gran’s house. We took them back to her house and put them in a big glass lollie jar but they died before it was time to go home at the end of the week. On the other hand my daughter, although not a fisherman, can make that impressive claim so this is her story..
There is a creek less than two hours from Melbourne that carries large rainbows. It doesn’t all year but they swim up stream to spawn in it, so in September and October they are still hanging about thinking (if trout think) about swimming back down into their home for the rest of the year. If you catch it right you can land big fish (well I’ve caught fish up to about 3 ½ lbs which aren’t big by New Zealand standards I’ll grant you but are big enough OK.) By the way don’t ask for directions because you aren’t going to get any. I seriously considered blindfolding my daughter for the trip but in the end let her off with a blood oath on her pet cat’s life.
So we get there early, not as early as I’d like but she’s my daughter so allowances have to be made. Well we’re there before anyone else, which is always good. To tell the truth I think it’s a bit of an unknown spot, certainly it doesn’t feature in any guide book I’ve seen. I once saw another bloke there with a spinning rod but for such good fly water it’s strange I’ve never seen another fly fisherman. Of course as I’ve already said it’s only worth fishing for a few weeks after the autumn water goes down a little and before the fish wander off so some years it just doesn’t seem to work at all. I’m a little nervous about taking Con there as it’s so fickle but I know that other more reliable water is only 20 minutes away if required. Actually I’m more pleased to have my daughter along although I know it’s really a one rod creek. After a half hour walk from parking the car we arrive at the stream and rig up. I tie on a dark brown nymph, there’s nothing happening on the surface and you’ve got to start somewhere, and offer her choice of water. While this is a good dry fly creek I’ve had success nymphing here before when nothing is rising, and also using a nymph to imitate a needle stonefly fall that tends to happen around lunchtime if the weather’s right. She’s never been fishing before but has practiced casting in the drive and watched a video from the Scientific Anglers range about finding trout. She decides to hang back and watch me catch a few first, no pressure then. As luck would have it I managed a small rainbow at the head of the first pool I fished, not much but it’s a start. I offer her the next pool but she doesn’t like the look of it and again at the third she decides to stand back and watch. By this stage I’m beginning to think that she isn’t going to fish at all but then she announces that she wants a go at the broken water up ahead.
So I offer her my nymph (which by this stage has already been successful twice) but she decides to fish a #14 Royal Wulff because it’s pretty, which is always a good reason. Her first cast landed awkwardly on the far bank, but a quick yank had it in the water where it’s taken by perhaps the prettiest fish I’ve ever seen. She quickly brought it to her feet, dragged rather than played. Unfortunately I was a bit slow with the camera and as she held it up it jumped out of her hand and swam off.
I’d like to say it was the first of many, but as yet she can’t make that claim. What she can do though is to look people in the eye and say, “well I fish for wild trout with a dry fly, and yes I do catch them. Actually I know this spot, and no I’m not going to say where but thank you for asking.”
I think she might make a fisherman yet.