Autumn on the Rapid, part II

Tuesday, 14th:

No fishing today. There was hard rain after breakfast and I chickened
out. Instead I stayed in the cabin, kept warm with a nice fire in the
Franklin stove and finished Red November, a book by W. Craig Reed about
the inside secrets of the U.S. and Soviet sub programs, including some
that I was involved with - Holystone, Barnacle, Clarinet Bullseye,
Boresight, and some others.

It rained off and on most of the day. We went for a bike ride in the
afternoon after the rain and ran into a couple of guides that are
friends. They said it was not a very good day on the river, and
friends staying at Lakewood confirmed it. With the hard rain and hard
fishing, I was glad I made the decision to not fish.

Wednesday, 15th:

No rain, but some serious looking clouds. Pretty chilly with a north
wind. After breakfast I made it to the dam with some friends and
fishing was not good. Again, I threw everything at the fish but not
one strike for over an hour. Finally a nice brook trout of about 14
inches fell prey to a size 18 brassie. A few more followed, including
a 17 inch salmon that did not break the surface while I was landing
him. Just as I was about to net him the hook came out of his jaw and
fouled itself in the leader along with the split shot. What a mess. I
cut off the brassie and the hook was bent. I finally gave up trying to
untangle the mess and cut off the leader, stuffed it into my waders and
put on a new one. First cast with another size 18 brassie and another
salmon hooked up. But, like his hefty brother before him, he too
slipped the hook just as I wad about to land him. Checked the hook and
it was bent. It shouldn't have been - the fish was not that big, so I
tied on another brassie tied with a scud hook. The next fish, a fairly
good brook trout did not bend that hook, so I can only assume that the
two brassies tied on straight hooks had a defect in the hook. The
brook trout was beautiful in his fall coat, bright orange belly with
bright green sides. I took pictures of the trout from this trip and
will post them later.

Some doofus tried to fish 20 feet upstream from where my friend George
was fishing (and catching fish). George told him to please leave. The
guy made a face and reluctantly moved on. George changed fishing spots
about 15 minutes later and this dude rushed to the vacated spot. The
guy must have figured it was a god spot because George had taken about
5 fish in the past hour. However, this doofus took none in the hour
that he was at the spot. Sort of makes you feel good when that
happens. The fish abound in this river. It is not where you fish, so
much as how you fish. Presentation, presentation, presentation.
George continued to catch fish at his new spot.

I finally took my first fall; slipped while carelessly moving over some
big rocks and landed directly on my tail bone. Hurt like hell. I sat
there for about five minutes until another fisherman came over to see
if I was ok. I'll be sore in the morning.

Only six of us in camp now, with two leaving in the morning. The
Polish girls have returned to Poland and college, so the place is very
quiet. Maureen is the waitress, while Whit is the cabin boy bringing
us enough wood to be comfortably warm during the day. Three blankets
and a furry dog names Jenny get us through the cold nights. One of my
pet projects (no pun intended) is teaching Jenny how to start a fire in
the stove about 0500 hours. So far she has been a lazy beast, staying
in bed until *I* make the fire. Ingrate!

I have a good bottle of red wine for dinner, and then it will be to bed
early. I am very tired.

Dave

On Wed, 15 Sep 2010 17:25:58 -0400, D. LaCourse
wrote:

Tuesday, 14th:

No fishing today. There was hard rain after breakfast and I chickened
out. Instead I stayed in the cabin, kept warm with a nice fire in the
Franklin stove and finished Red November, a book by W. Craig Reed about
the inside secrets of the U.S. and Soviet sub programs, including some
that I was involved with - Holystone, Barnacle, Clarinet Bullseye,
Boresight, and some others.

It rained off and on most of the day. We went for a bike ride in the
afternoon after the rain and ran into a couple of guides that are
friends. They said it was not a very good day on the river, and
friends staying at Lakewood confirmed it. With the hard rain and hard
fishing, I was glad I made the decision to not fish.

Wednesday, 15th:

No rain, but some serious looking clouds. Pretty chilly with a north
wind. After breakfast I made it to the dam with some friends and
fishing was not good. Again, I threw everything at the fish but not
one strike for over an hour. Finally a nice brook trout of about 14
inches fell prey to a size 18 brassie. A few more followed, including
a 17 inch salmon that did not break the surface while I was landing
him. Just as I was about to net him the hook came out of his jaw and
fouled itself in the leader along with the split shot. What a mess. I
cut off the brassie and the hook was bent. I finally gave up trying to
untangle the mess and cut off the leader, stuffed it into my waders and
put on a new one. First cast with another size 18 brassie and another
salmon hooked up. But, like his hefty brother before him, he too
slipped the hook just as I wad about to land him. Checked the hook and
it was bent. It shouldn't have been - the fish was not that big, so I
tied on another brassie tied with a scud hook. The next fish, a fairly
good brook trout did not bend that hook, so I can only assume that the
two brassies tied on straight hooks had a defect in the hook. The
brook trout was beautiful in his fall coat, bright orange belly with
bright green sides. I took pictures of the trout from this trip and
will post them later.

Some doofus tried to fish 20 feet upstream from where my friend George
was fishing (and catching fish). George told him to please leave. The
guy made a face and reluctantly moved on. George changed fishing spots
about 15 minutes later and this dude rushed to the vacated spot. The
guy must have figured it was a god spot because George had taken about
5 fish in the past hour. However, this doofus took none in the hour
that he was at the spot. Sort of makes you feel good when that
happens. The fish abound in this river. It is not where you fish, so
much as how you fish. Presentation, presentation, presentation.
George continued to catch fish at his new spot.

I finally took my first fall; slipped while carelessly moving over some
big rocks and landed directly on my tail bone. Hurt like hell. I sat
there for about five minutes until another fisherman came over to see
if I was ok. I'll be sore in the morning.

Only six of us in camp now, with two leaving in the morning. The
Polish girls have returned to Poland and college, so the place is very
quiet. Maureen is the waitress, while Whit is the cabin boy bringing
us enough wood to be comfortably warm during the day. Three blankets
and a furry dog names Jenny get us through the cold nights. One of my
pet projects (no pun intended) is teaching Jenny how to start a fire in
the stove about 0500 hours. So far she has been a lazy beast, staying
in bed until *I* make the fire. Ingrate!

I have a good bottle of red wine for dinner, and then it will be to bed
early. I am very tired.

Dave


Nicely done - Thanks

Another real good TR
While reading your TR I can almost feel like I am there again

We used to bring our mountain bikes as there were some real good
trails in the area

I hope it's a good red wine

Herbie Mann

On 2010-09-15 17:41:27 -0400, flebow said:

Herbie Mann

Herbie Mann? Wow. One of the greatest flutist of all time. Have only
a few of his recordings, however. You da Mann, Fred.

Dave

"D. LaCourse" wrote in message
news:2010091517255816807-davplac@aolcom...
I have a good bottle of red wine for dinner, and then it will be to bed
early. I am very tired.

I hope you meant 'with dinner', as red wine alone is less than filling.....
Tom
p.s. keep the reports coming, and watch those falls

On 2010-09-15 17:44:00 -0400, "Tom Littleton" said:

I hope you meant 'with dinner', as red wine alone is less than filling.....
Tom
p.s. keep the reports coming, and watch those falls

Two more days, Tom, and then my Maine fishing year is finished. It has
been one of the best I have ever had, falls or no falls, dunkings
included. I am starting to *really* feel my age. Hope the fishing
down south is good.

Dave

On 2010-09-15 17:44:00 -0400, "Tom Littleton" said:


"D. LaCourse" wrote in message
news:2010091517255816807-davplac@aolcom...
I have a good bottle of red wine for dinner, and then it will be to bed
early. I am very tired.

I hope you meant 'with dinner', as red wine alone is less than filling.....
Tom
p.s. keep the reports coming, and watch those falls

The red wine was very good. There are only six of us in camp, so we
decided to all sit together at one table and share tales and wine.
Great dinner, great friends, great fishing, great wine, and some great
tales.

Cold and still this morning. Overcast, but no wind. Should be good fishing.

Dave

"D. LaCourse" wrote in message
news:2010091517255816807-davplac@aolcom...
Tuesday, 14th:

No fishing today. There was hard rain after breakfast and I chickened
out. Instead I stayed in the cabin, kept warm with a nice fire in the
Franklin stove and finished Red November, a book by W. Craig Reed about
the inside secrets of the U.S. and Soviet sub programs, including some
that I was involved with - Holystone, Barnacle, Clarinet Bullseye,
Boresight, and some others.

It rained off and on most of the day. We went for a bike ride in the
afternoon after the rain and ran into a couple of guides that are friends.
They said it was not a very good day on the river, and friends staying at
Lakewood confirmed it. With the hard rain and hard fishing, I was glad I
made the decision to not fish.

Wednesday, 15th:

No rain, but some serious looking clouds. Pretty chilly with a north
wind. After breakfast I made it to the dam with some friends and fishing
was not good. Again, I threw everything at the fish but not one strike
for over an hour. Finally a nice brook trout of about 14 inches fell prey
to a size 18 brassie. A few more followed, including a 17 inch salmon
that did not break the surface while I was landing him. Just as I was
about to net him the hook came out of his jaw and fouled itself in the
leader along with the split shot. What a mess. I cut off the brassie and
the hook was bent. I finally gave up trying to untangle the mess and cut
off the leader, stuffed it into my waders and put on a new one. First
cast with another size 18 brassie and another salmon hooked up. But, like
his hefty brother before him, he too slipped the hook just as I wad about
to land him. Checked the hook and it was bent. It shouldn't have been -
the fish was not that big, so I tied on another brassie tied with a scud
hook. The next fish, a fairly good brook trout did not bend that hook, so
I can only assume that the two brassies tied on straight hooks had a
defect in the hook. The brook trout was beautiful in his fall coat,
bright orange belly with bright green sides. I took pictures of the trout
from this trip and will post them later.

Some doofus tried to fish 20 feet upstream from where my friend George was
fishing (and catching fish). George told him to please leave. The guy
made a face and reluctantly moved on. George changed fishing spots about
15 minutes later and this dude rushed to the vacated spot. The guy must
have figured it was a god spot because George had taken about 5 fish in
the past hour. However, this doofus took none in the hour that he was at
the spot. Sort of makes you feel good when that happens. The fish abound
in this river. It is not where you fish, so much as how you fish.
Presentation, presentation, presentation. George continued to catch fish
at his new spot.

I finally took my first fall; slipped while carelessly moving over some
big rocks and landed directly on my tail bone. Hurt like hell. I sat
there for about five minutes until another fisherman came over to see if I
was ok. I'll be sore in the morning.

Only six of us in camp now, with two leaving in the morning. The Polish
girls have returned to Poland and college, so the place is very quiet.
Maureen is the waitress, while Whit is the cabin boy bringing us enough
wood to be comfortably warm during the day. Three blankets and a furry
dog names Jenny get us through the cold nights. One of my pet projects
(no pun intended) is teaching Jenny how to start a fire in the stove about
0500 hours. So far she has been a lazy beast, staying in bed until *I*
make the fire. Ingrate!

I have a good bottle of red wine for dinner, and then it will be to bed
early. I am very tired.

Dave


Wow! you do know how to live the good life:-) ..... .Log fire, three
blankets, a bottle of wine and a cosy labrador - sounds abolutely idyllic.

BTW are you allowed to keep any of the fish you catch?

Bill

On 2010-09-16 08:15:45 -0400, "Bill Grey" said:


"D. LaCourse" wrote in message
news:2010091517255816807-davplac@aolcom...
Tuesday, 14th:

No fishing today. There was hard rain after breakfast and I chickened
out. Instead I stayed in the cabin, kept warm with a nice fire in the
Franklin stove and finished Red November, a book by W. Craig Reed about
the inside secrets of the U.S. and Soviet sub programs, including some
that I was involved with - Holystone, Barnacle, Clarinet Bullseye,
Boresight, and some others.

It rained off and on most of the day. We went for a bike ride in the
afternoon after the rain and ran into a couple of guides that are friends.
They said it was not a very good day on the river, and friends staying at
Lakewood confirmed it. With the hard rain and hard fishing, I was glad I
made the decision to not fish.

Wednesday, 15th:

No rain, but some serious looking clouds. Pretty chilly with a north
wind. After breakfast I made it to the dam with some friends and fishing
was not good. Again, I threw everything at the fish but not one strike
for over an hour. Finally a nice brook trout of about 14 inches fell prey
to a size 18 brassie. A few more followed, including a 17 inch salmon
that did not break the surface while I was landing him. Just as I was
about to net him the hook came out of his jaw and fouled itself in the
leader along with the split shot. What a mess. I cut off the brassie and
the hook was bent. I finally gave up trying to untangle the mess and cut
off the leader, stuffed it into my waders and put on a new one. First
cast with another size 18 brassie and another salmon hooked up. But, like
his hefty brother before him, he too slipped the hook just as I wad about
to land him. Checked the hook and it was bent. It shouldn't have been -
the fish was not that big, so I tied on another brassie tied with a scud
hook. The next fish, a fairly good brook trout did not bend that hook, so
I can only assume that the two brassies tied on straight hooks had a
defect in the hook. The brook trout was beautiful in his fall coat,
bright orange belly with bright green sides. I took pictures of the trout
from this trip and will post them later.

Some doofus tried to fish 20 feet upstream from where my friend George was
fishing (and catching fish). George told him to please leave. The guy
made a face and reluctantly moved on. George changed fishing spots about
15 minutes later and this dude rushed to the vacated spot. The guy must
have figured it was a god spot because George had taken about 5 fish in
the past hour. However, this doofus took none in the hour that he was at
the spot. Sort of makes you feel good when that happens. The fish abound
in this river. It is not where you fish, so much as how you fish.
Presentation, presentation, presentation. George continued to catch fish
at his new spot.

I finally took my first fall; slipped while carelessly moving over some
big rocks and landed directly on my tail bone. Hurt like hell. I sat
there for about five minutes until another fisherman came over to see if I
was ok. I'll be sore in the morning.

Only six of us in camp now, with two leaving in the morning. The Polish
girls have returned to Poland and college, so the place is very quiet.
Maureen is the waitress, while Whit is the cabin boy bringing us enough
wood to be comfortably warm during the day. Three blankets and a furry
dog names Jenny get us through the cold nights. One of my pet projects
(no pun intended) is teaching Jenny how to start a fire in the stove about
0500 hours. So far she has been a lazy beast, staying in bed until *I*
make the fire. Ingrate!

I have a good bottle of red wine for dinner, and then it will be to bed
early. I am very tired.

Dave


Wow! you do know how to live the good life:-) ..... .Log fire, three
blankets, a bottle of wine and a cosy labrador - sounds abolutely idyllic.

BTW are you allowed to keep any of the fish you catch?

Bill

Yes, Bill. You are allowed two salmon (I believe) greater than 12
inches. I have never killed a fish on this river, but others do and
have them for breakfast.

Good day today.

Dave

On Sep 15, 2:25*pm, D. LaCourse wrote:
Tuesday, 14th:

No fishing today. *There was hard rain after breakfast and I chickened
out. * Instead I stayed in the cabin, kept warm with a nice fire in the
Franklin stove and finished Red November, a book by W. Craig Reed about
the inside secrets of the U.S. and Soviet sub programs, including some
that I was involved with - Holystone, Barnacle, Clarinet Bullseye,
Boresight, and some others.

It rained off and on most of the day. *We went for a bike ride in the
afternoon after the rain and ran into a couple of guides that are
friends. *They said it was not a very good day on the river, and
friends staying at Lakewood confirmed it. *With the hard rain and hard
fishing, I was glad I made the decision to not fish.

Wednesday, 15th:

No rain, but some serious looking clouds. *Pretty chilly with a north
wind. *After breakfast *I made it to the dam with some friends and
fishing was not good. *Again, I threw everything at the fish but not
one strike for over an hour. *Finally a nice brook trout of about 14
inches fell prey to a size 18 brassie. *A few more followed, including
a 17 inch salmon that did not break the surface while I was landing
him. *Just as I was about to net him the hook came out of his jaw and
fouled itself in the leader along with the split shot. *What a mess. *I
cut off the brassie and the hook was bent. *I finally gave up trying to
untangle the mess and cut off the leader, stuffed it into my waders and
put on a new one. *First cast with another size 18 brassie and another
salmon hooked up. *But, like his hefty brother before him, he too
slipped the hook just as I wad about to land him. *Checked the hook and
it was bent. *It shouldn't have been - the fish was not that big, so I
tied on another brassie tied with a scud hook. *The next fish, a fairly
good brook trout did not bend that hook, so I can only assume that the
two brassies tied on straight hooks had a defect in the hook. *The
brook trout was beautiful in his fall coat, bright orange belly with
bright green sides. *I took pictures of the trout from this trip and
will post them later.

Some doofus tried to fish 20 feet upstream from where my friend George
was fishing (and catching fish). *George told him to please leave. *The
guy made a face and reluctantly moved on. *George changed fishing spots
about 15 minutes later and this dude rushed to the vacated spot. *The
guy must have figured it was a god spot because George had taken about
5 fish in the past hour. *However, this doofus took none in the hour
that he was at the spot. *Sort of makes you feel good when that
happens. *The fish abound in this river. *It is not where you fish, so
much as how you fish. *Presentation, presentation, presentation. *
George continued to catch fish at his new spot.

I finally took my first fall; slipped while carelessly moving over some
big rocks and landed directly on my tail bone. *Hurt like hell. *I sat
there for about five minutes until another fisherman came over to see
if I was ok. *I'll be sore in the morning.

Only six of us in camp now, with two leaving in the morning. *The
Polish girls have returned to Poland and college, so the place is very
quiet. *Maureen is the waitress, while Whit is the cabin boy bringing
us enough wood to be comfortably warm during the day. *Three blankets
and a furry dog names Jenny get us through the cold nights. *One of my
pet projects (no pun intended) is teaching Jenny how to start a fire in
the stove about 0500 hours. *So far she has been a lazy beast, staying
in bed until *I* make the fire. *Ingrate!

I have a good bottle of red wine for dinner, and then it will be to bed
early. *I am very tired.

Dave

Great narrative on your sojurn as usual Chief. Your comments on
presentation, presentation, presentation, and the Brook trout bring to
mind some of the early debate and development of American fly fishing
by our pioneers. I see younger eyes and potential cheese ball addicts,
rolling their eyes. So be it.

The classic case and descriptive advocacy for an emphasis on
presentation vs imitation, came from George M.L. LaBranch in his
ground breaking 1914 book "The Dry Fly and Fast Water," and 10 years
later his 1924 book "The Salmon and the Dry Fly." They are still quite
worth the read for North Americans, and perhaps for Brits is as much
as LaBranch was also bridging the differences between British
conditions and entomology, and American, as well as working out how
Americans could catch the more difficult Brown trout, which were at
this time replacing Brook Trout on many East Coast waters. And of
course Theodore Gordon and Hewitt are both a joy.

I am going to check and see if any of these works are in Google books.

Dave of the Jungle

"DaveS" wrote in message
...
The classic case and descriptive advocacy for an emphasis on
presentation vs imitation, came from George M.L. LaBranch in his
ground breaking 1914 book "The Dry Fly and Fast Water," and 10 years
later his 1924 book "The Salmon and the Dry Fly." They are still quite
worth the read for North Americans, and perhaps for Brits is as much
as LaBranch was also bridging the differences between British
conditions and entomology, and American, as well as working out how
Americans could catch the more difficult Brown trout, which were at
this time replacing Brook Trout on many East Coast waters. And of
course Theodore Gordon and Hewitt are both a joy.

agreed with the description of "The Dry Fly and Fast Water".....never read
the Salmon book, but have owned an re-read the former for years.
Lee Wulff could be seen as following this same 'presentation vs. imitation'
trend, and other, more regional authors contributed to the literature as
well(Betters jumps to mind).
Tom