The fly of last resort: A sort of TR

I ve always considered the Wooly Bugger the fly of last resort;
to use when nothing else is working. The last two years its been the
fly of no resort as I haven t even carried one. But I got a tip
from a local fly shop that there were some monsters below an unamed
Missourri river dam that were on them big time.

I got to the dam this afternoon but the East side access was
closed off. The East is 100X more wadedable and usually has more
fish. The day before this side was open and I was able to catch some
on nymphs. That day was cloudy and very overcast and while there
were some small Baetis around the main hatch were these little
neon green things. I ve seen them on the Mo last year and called them
leafhoppers as that s what they sort of looked like. Anybody know of
such a thing? They re not mayflies. (Approx size 22-24) But I fished
something similar to it, at least it was neon green with a little
wing. Using a 7 wt I hooked one that by the end of his numerous
runs had my arm shaking , in the 20 " range and probably 4- 5
pounds. Fat as a football ! I hooked up 4 of them during a long
afternoon and after getting the tip on Buggers was eager for some
more of that action.

SO I m stumbling down the pointed rock trail on West side, my
previously sprained ankle begining to hurt... Still had the nymphs
rigged and I stopped every 10 ft or so and made a couple casts from
the rocky bank, not much hope in getting in the river due to depth
and rocks. Had one on with the neon green 22 but it got off.After
walking a 1/2 mile without picking anything else up I got to a spot
that at least you can wade out more than 10 ft. Sure enough there
was another guy there. But I lit a pipe and chatted with him a bit. He
hadnt caught anything that day nymphing either . This was the point
I decided to try the Wooly Bugger....

I moved down below him into some moderately fast water. The last
type of streamer fishing I had done was fishing Clausers for small
mouth in PA. I supposed that perhaps this was the way to fish
buggers. I cast out into the middle of the riffle , mended a couple
times, let it swing and then stripped back. A few times with that an
no luck. This isn t going to work, I thought..... I was far enough out
that I could throw in and "fish the bank". First cast resulted in a
a strike which sent an electric shock thru my line and rod and up my
arm! A big swirl in the water and he was off. Not having to worry
about a little fly pulling out or 6x tippet breaking was a
relief. Just enjoyed the fight. Gorgeous fish almost as long as my
net.

Moving down the riffle I got a couple more strikes and
discovered WB fishing wasn t as easy as I thought . As the fish would
strike and not get hooked. I figured I got lucky the first time.
After a few miscues I discovered that if I kept the rod tip up a
little bit, allowing some slack in the line, and let the fish take
the fly a bit before striking made for a better hookup
percentage.

Then I saw across the river the guy I had been talking to. They
must have opened the walkway across dam up or else he was a damn
good swimmer..... It was about 5 30 and I figured what the hell I
really had wanted to fish the other side. Went back over all those
pointed rocks, my aching ankle..... Across the dam, up over the
PP&L installation and down to the other side. By now the guy I
saw down river is back up river in the first riffle I wanted to
fish. Being somewhat of a gentleman, in our last chat I had passed
along the tip on Woolly Buggers and by the way he was flailing the
water I surmised he was now using one. He proudly told me he had
gotten one.

So once again I moved below him and began working the next riffle.
The rewards were almost immediate, like some dinner bell went on!
Two fish in a row both around 18 " and heavy! It was almost like
magic . I ve fished long and hard many time in this spot without
the results I was getting from the Bugger. One of the last fish I
caught was a riser. In a seam by a big rock towards the bank I
saw a nice rise. I threw in front of him let the bugger drift down
gave a couple tugs and he was on. So much for dry fly fishing.....
G

I think the last fish was the most fun. Warren knows the spot I m
talking about . Down in some very fast yet shallow ( knee deep)
water. I cast out on a 45 degree downstream and as it swung
towards me a fish hit it hard and took off in the fast current. I
had no where to go as there was deep fast water in front of me and to
the side of me also. I was kind of perched out on the end of this
narrow bar in very fast current. The fish was into my backing in
what seemed like seconds! I could do nothing but hold my ground
but in time the 7 wt and 3X tippet proved the stronger and
eventually I was able to work him back up the river and then into the
deeper slower water to the side of me and land him. Deciding nothing
could top that I decided to head home.

I climbed back up the long path to the dam and from the dam I
could now see fish rising in the pool below the dam within easy
casting distance. Before discovering the Wooly Bugger I would have
been tempted to go back and fish them, but not now.....

MT