Penns Clave Trip Report - Preliminary

Brief note before bed:
Bunches of guys who get ****ed off when there's two people in line in front
of them at a register waiting 7 hours beside a stream to save their spot for
the spinner fall. The green drake spinner fall at Ingleby is the most
incredible display of insects that I've ever seen. It started at about 9.
By the time you get off the stream at 10, you are rung out. Thousands of
fish splashing around you. The water is totally coated by 2 1/2" long (tail
not included) white and black mayfly spinners. Fish taking anything
resembling it. I believe you could hook them with a white piece of polly
yarn as the lure. Tom had one almost to hand that hadn't even touched the
hook. Just was holding the end of the polly yarn used as the white body on
the spinner pattern.
You don't worry about drift, about mending, about anything else than setting
the hook when you think there's a rise in the general vicinity of your fly.
You can't turn on a headlamp or flashlight. If you do, you are soon covered
with thousands of flies. You grit your teeth to breath to keep from
inhaling a bunch. As you strip your line in, flies not stripped off through
the guides make your hands sticky as you can't help but closing your fingers
on a few.
Your vision is useless. Its sound, feel and intuition. This is the only
time that a blind man would have an advantage in fly fishing. You listen
for a rise, or at least try to triangulate where multiple rises are and cast
to that area. When you hear or, maybe see a splash in the vicinity of your
fly, you set the hook. Readjust at each cast.
When the payoff comes, it shocks your whole system. You are intent on one
phase of the fishing, then have to quickly shift to the next. Is it a
smallie, chub, carp, foul hooked? No, its a monster fish taken from 6 to 8
inches of water. Many people, including Tom, JR, Handyman, and me, broke the
20" fish size mark. Some by almost half a foot.
Would I do it again? I don't know. Weeks of preparation for a few minutes
of fishing. Its not pretty fly fishing. It is, however, some of the most
intense fly fishing I've ever done. I can't help but think my next turn on
the water will be anticlimatic.

--
Frank Reid
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