The Worst Day on the River...
...is still better than the best day in the office. And even though my office days are behind me, I recently had one of the worst days on the river EVER and it was still great!
Wednesday, Oct 29
One more trip to Bennett Spring before trout season ends. The drive down was uneventful, save that Huggy Bear did get a chance to drive for a bit...
We made our usual stop at Osceola Cheese. Kate has been off dairy for a while so she decided to sample a little and see if it caused her any problems. She also picked up some YUMMY Amish-made pickled okra and baby beets.
Our usual firewood source in Louisburg was out. Based on what we saw last month we kinda expected that, so we kept our eyes peeled and found another, if slightly more expensive source - 18 pieces of wood for $7.50. That was plenty for us.
We were greeted warmly by Annette, who has checked us in every time we’ve been here. Got my tag after confirming that Griffith’s gnats & cracklebacks were still the flies of choice. Drove to Cabin 16 and unloaded our gear.
With three hours of fishing left in the day, we hit the river, Kate settling in to sketch the anglers and the view downstream and I with the “new” Montague Sunbeam rod mounted with an Ocean City skeleton reel with a 5 wt Cortland 444 Sylk line on it. The lighter line does not perform as well in a breeze as the heavier 6 wt but I still got one nice 9" trout. I caught no more but discovered that was likely due to the fact that I had damaged my fly in getting it out of the mouth of the first one. By 1815 - fifteen minutes before the closing siren - I decided to call it quits. At least Kate got in some nice sketches - here's one of the spring itself.
Back to the cabin, where I cleaned the trout and put it in the fridge for the next day. Beef - it’s what’s for dinner. Leftover pot roast we had brought along at Kate’s suggestion, actually. She says she jinxed the fishing by being prepared, but I don’t think so. We’re always prepared - that’s what credit cards and restaurants are for!
Tried to fire up our new Android tablet and discovered that it had shot craps on the trip down. The battery was stone dead and even charging wouldn’t revive it. Sigh. Well, at least we have the laptop and the network seems to be working better this trip. Maybe having most of the leaves down allows the signal to be a bit stronger.
Built a fire and the wood appears to be every bit as good as the stuff we used to get in Louisburg.
Annette had told us that there was a problem with the satellite at our cabin and that we wouldn’t be able to see the World Series, which was fine with us: Kate and I are probably among the very few people living in Missouri that really weren’t all that interested in it. Still, so many of our friends were so wound up about it that I had to at least check the score. Given some of the lopsided scores of a couple of the earlier games, I’m thinking a 3-2 loss in the final game is nothing for Royals fans to be ashamed of.
Thursday, Oct 30
Up way too early - around 0400. Stoked up the fire and put on the coffee. At least there’s a new coffee maker - the one here last time was definitely on its last legs!
I had originally planned to go back to my 6 wt rod but since the Montague was rigged and ready to go I thought I’d try it again, at least in the morning. And so I did: upon hooking my first trout, the rod broke! Not entirely unexpected - I had done a repair on one of the ferrules (they’re all poorly-fitting replacements on this rod) and I knew the rod itself was weak at that point, but having caught one fish on it, I figured it was good. Apparently not. And of course, though I had brought along spare rods & reels, they were back at the cabin! So back I went and since this seemed the trip to try out “new” rigs, I opted for the Phillipson Deluxe 6 wt fiberglass rod that belonged to Kate’s father, mounted with a South Bend 1122 reel that I’ve had for so long that I’ve forgotten where and when I acquired it - probably the Navy Exchange. I know it has a WF-6-F line on it since I put the sticker from the line on the reel foot but I have no idea who made it.
Fished for another hour and no luck, so back to the cabin for breakfast. We’re late eaters anyway, so an 1130 breakfast is not unusual for us.
Kate drove me back to the spring so she’d have Rivet (the Jeep) - she had several locations she wanted to explore, especially the Niangua River Bridge. She never was able to get to a spot to sketch it, though.
Started getting a bit more luck - sort of. My first fish with the Phillipson was lost due to lack of net - left in the Jeep. Fortunately, Kate hadn’t left yet so I went to the Jeep and got it. Caught another and lost the entire leader - the braided leader connector I had on the line pulled completely off. So I swapped out that reel with the Union Jack skeleton reel (ca. 1930) with 6 wt Courtland Sylk line on it. That’s the one I usually use on my old bamboo rod, the one I’ve named the Hardy Apprentice, since I was told it was probably made by one of the Hardy brothers’ apprentices a hundred or so years ago.
Brief digression. William Hardy and his brother, John James, were premier rod makers in Alnwick, Northumberland, England, beginning in the 1880s. Among many other innovations, they invented the hexagonal bamboo rod which set the standard for high quality rods for generations to follow. They also invented the graphite fly rod, but since I own one, I guess I’ll have to forgive them.
Anyway, lost two more fish because I’m unfamiliar with netting fish on a fiberglass rod - the action of a 7 ½ foot fiberglass rod is a LOT stiffer than a 9 ½ foot bamboo - and they slipped the hook before I could net them. I’m going to borrow from another writer whose name I know only by his online ID, xjguy07. After extolling the virtues of the craftsmanship involved in the creation of a bamboo rod, he gets to the heart of the matter: “Finally, bamboo rods do give a better feel for the fish when one is on the line. It may be physical or it may be mental but when fishing with a bamboo rod and you hook up with a fish, it is something no other rod can top. There is a direct natural link between the fisherman and the fish. The whole rod bends, it twitches with the fish, it zips and zaps every which way the fish does.” He writes further that the stiffness of a graphite rod towards the handle, “stops it from acting like the fish; it soaks up some of the tugs and pulls on the line that you would normally feel with a bamboo rod...”
We don’t have any pictures of the sort this year, but this one from last year gives you a good idea what he’s talking about.
So I finally gave up on the “new” stuff and went back to my old friend, the Hardy Apprentice rod mounted with the Union Jack reel. Caught and netted two nice fish for dinner before my tippet got mysteriously snarled - I’ve never had that happen before, but then this was the day for new experiences - and since it was half an hour before the siren I decided to call it a day. I use Bimini tippets and I could probably have put on a new one and tied on a new fly before the siren, but enough is enough. Got a nice compliment on my split willow & leather creel from one of the other fishermen as I was getting out of the water.
Friday, Oct 31 - Samhain/Hallowe’en
Slept well, packed up, and checked out. While checking out I found a little round diamond sharpener in the Camp Store that I’d been looking for. Had our traditional departing breakfast at the Lodge and hit the road. On the way back we stopped in Weaubleau because they have one of the few remaining motels that consists of tiny cabins that we find so charming. Ron, the owner, was very nice and showed us the inside of one of the cabins - they look quite comfortable and are surprisingly roomy!
But that will be for another time. Right now, it’s good to be home!
Wednesday, Oct 29
One more trip to Bennett Spring before trout season ends. The drive down was uneventful, save that Huggy Bear did get a chance to drive for a bit...
We made our usual stop at Osceola Cheese. Kate has been off dairy for a while so she decided to sample a little and see if it caused her any problems. She also picked up some YUMMY Amish-made pickled okra and baby beets.
Our usual firewood source in Louisburg was out. Based on what we saw last month we kinda expected that, so we kept our eyes peeled and found another, if slightly more expensive source - 18 pieces of wood for $7.50. That was plenty for us.
We were greeted warmly by Annette, who has checked us in every time we’ve been here. Got my tag after confirming that Griffith’s gnats & cracklebacks were still the flies of choice. Drove to Cabin 16 and unloaded our gear.
With three hours of fishing left in the day, we hit the river, Kate settling in to sketch the anglers and the view downstream and I with the “new” Montague Sunbeam rod mounted with an Ocean City skeleton reel with a 5 wt Cortland 444 Sylk line on it. The lighter line does not perform as well in a breeze as the heavier 6 wt but I still got one nice 9" trout. I caught no more but discovered that was likely due to the fact that I had damaged my fly in getting it out of the mouth of the first one. By 1815 - fifteen minutes before the closing siren - I decided to call it quits. At least Kate got in some nice sketches - here's one of the spring itself.
Back to the cabin, where I cleaned the trout and put it in the fridge for the next day. Beef - it’s what’s for dinner. Leftover pot roast we had brought along at Kate’s suggestion, actually. She says she jinxed the fishing by being prepared, but I don’t think so. We’re always prepared - that’s what credit cards and restaurants are for!
Tried to fire up our new Android tablet and discovered that it had shot craps on the trip down. The battery was stone dead and even charging wouldn’t revive it. Sigh. Well, at least we have the laptop and the network seems to be working better this trip. Maybe having most of the leaves down allows the signal to be a bit stronger.
Built a fire and the wood appears to be every bit as good as the stuff we used to get in Louisburg.
Annette had told us that there was a problem with the satellite at our cabin and that we wouldn’t be able to see the World Series, which was fine with us: Kate and I are probably among the very few people living in Missouri that really weren’t all that interested in it. Still, so many of our friends were so wound up about it that I had to at least check the score. Given some of the lopsided scores of a couple of the earlier games, I’m thinking a 3-2 loss in the final game is nothing for Royals fans to be ashamed of.
Thursday, Oct 30
Up way too early - around 0400. Stoked up the fire and put on the coffee. At least there’s a new coffee maker - the one here last time was definitely on its last legs!
I had originally planned to go back to my 6 wt rod but since the Montague was rigged and ready to go I thought I’d try it again, at least in the morning. And so I did: upon hooking my first trout, the rod broke! Not entirely unexpected - I had done a repair on one of the ferrules (they’re all poorly-fitting replacements on this rod) and I knew the rod itself was weak at that point, but having caught one fish on it, I figured it was good. Apparently not. And of course, though I had brought along spare rods & reels, they were back at the cabin! So back I went and since this seemed the trip to try out “new” rigs, I opted for the Phillipson Deluxe 6 wt fiberglass rod that belonged to Kate’s father, mounted with a South Bend 1122 reel that I’ve had for so long that I’ve forgotten where and when I acquired it - probably the Navy Exchange. I know it has a WF-6-F line on it since I put the sticker from the line on the reel foot but I have no idea who made it.
Fished for another hour and no luck, so back to the cabin for breakfast. We’re late eaters anyway, so an 1130 breakfast is not unusual for us.
Kate drove me back to the spring so she’d have Rivet (the Jeep) - she had several locations she wanted to explore, especially the Niangua River Bridge. She never was able to get to a spot to sketch it, though.
Started getting a bit more luck - sort of. My first fish with the Phillipson was lost due to lack of net - left in the Jeep. Fortunately, Kate hadn’t left yet so I went to the Jeep and got it. Caught another and lost the entire leader - the braided leader connector I had on the line pulled completely off. So I swapped out that reel with the Union Jack skeleton reel (ca. 1930) with 6 wt Courtland Sylk line on it. That’s the one I usually use on my old bamboo rod, the one I’ve named the Hardy Apprentice, since I was told it was probably made by one of the Hardy brothers’ apprentices a hundred or so years ago.
Brief digression. William Hardy and his brother, John James, were premier rod makers in Alnwick, Northumberland, England, beginning in the 1880s. Among many other innovations, they invented the hexagonal bamboo rod which set the standard for high quality rods for generations to follow. They also invented the graphite fly rod, but since I own one, I guess I’ll have to forgive them.
Anyway, lost two more fish because I’m unfamiliar with netting fish on a fiberglass rod - the action of a 7 ½ foot fiberglass rod is a LOT stiffer than a 9 ½ foot bamboo - and they slipped the hook before I could net them. I’m going to borrow from another writer whose name I know only by his online ID, xjguy07. After extolling the virtues of the craftsmanship involved in the creation of a bamboo rod, he gets to the heart of the matter: “Finally, bamboo rods do give a better feel for the fish when one is on the line. It may be physical or it may be mental but when fishing with a bamboo rod and you hook up with a fish, it is something no other rod can top. There is a direct natural link between the fisherman and the fish. The whole rod bends, it twitches with the fish, it zips and zaps every which way the fish does.” He writes further that the stiffness of a graphite rod towards the handle, “stops it from acting like the fish; it soaks up some of the tugs and pulls on the line that you would normally feel with a bamboo rod...”
We don’t have any pictures of the sort this year, but this one from last year gives you a good idea what he’s talking about.
So I finally gave up on the “new” stuff and went back to my old friend, the Hardy Apprentice rod mounted with the Union Jack reel. Caught and netted two nice fish for dinner before my tippet got mysteriously snarled - I’ve never had that happen before, but then this was the day for new experiences - and since it was half an hour before the siren I decided to call it a day. I use Bimini tippets and I could probably have put on a new one and tied on a new fly before the siren, but enough is enough. Got a nice compliment on my split willow & leather creel from one of the other fishermen as I was getting out of the water.
Friday, Oct 31 - Samhain/Hallowe’en
Slept well, packed up, and checked out. While checking out I found a little round diamond sharpener in the Camp Store that I’d been looking for. Had our traditional departing breakfast at the Lodge and hit the road. On the way back we stopped in Weaubleau because they have one of the few remaining motels that consists of tiny cabins that we find so charming. Ron, the owner, was very nice and showed us the inside of one of the cabins - they look quite comfortable and are surprisingly roomy!
But that will be for another time. Right now, it’s good to be home!