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Thread: The Epical 2025 Fishing Yarns and Photo Thread

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    Rasputin's Avatar
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    The Epical 2025 Fishing Yarns and Photo Thread

    Seeing as I was a skier for so many years, I still get really excited when it snows, associate it with a blessing from on high, and now have transferred that excitement to the superstitious belief that when it snows the fish also get excited. It was this confluence of superstitions which got me gussied up to go out on the river today, as it snowed last night, and today, and I was raring to go forth with my truck in 4WD and get my line wet.

    The last couple outings have been unimpressive, I landed three whitefish in two trips out, which was disappointing since I hadn't fished in two weeks. However yesterday's one fish performance felt good though, and I felt luck creeping up on me as two eagles sat in a tree above where I was fishing.

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    Today's outing started slow, and I only had one whitefish to show for the first couple hours, but as I drifted a double beaded Prince/ red worm combo into the top of the confluence, I got a strong take, and was shocked at the big jumping fish it lead to. Holy crap, it was a brown trout! And though this brown was on the slender side, he was a full twenty one inches long. W00t w00t, my biggest brown by a lot!


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    I continued up stream above the confluence where there is a trough in slower water. I was feeling unusually lucky to have caught al big brown in water that I really don't associate with that species, and have only caught a couple small ones in that area before. I deepened my rig for the trough, and while I was musing aloud that I would be lucky and thankful indeed to catch another trout of any sort, I got another hard take, and a solid set led into a battle with a big strong fish. I figured this one would be a rainbow or cutbow, or a monster whitefish as those are the fish I catch there, but when I had gained some line, I saw that it was a darker fish than I expected, then I saw orange spots on the side and recognized what it was, a bull trout. I held on with my left hand while I fished out my camera, because I well know it's not kosher to pick them up for pictures, and towed it into shallow water, getting a marginal pic of the biggest fish I've ever caught, while he was still in the water. Easily 23", though I didn't measure. Happy New Year to me, the two longest trouts (I know a bull trout is a char) I've ever caught, within the space of ten minutes, Alleluia! Blessed be the God of fly fishing (and all else), and may all of your fishing years be full of such moments.


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    Last edited by Rasputin; 01-03-2025 at 10:19 PM.
    I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. -אלוהים אדירים

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    No more skiing? What happened?
    No longer stuck.

    Quote Originally Posted by stuckathuntermtn View Post
    Just an uneducated guess.

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    Hell yeah on the bull trout Ras! Snow got funky and the old lady wanted to camp so fishing it was. No bull trout for me but the rainbow mightve had some bull interaction. Nice day on the water for the new year with the dogs.

    Sent from my SM-S236DL using Tapatalk

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    That trout is fuckin’ beautiful man!


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    holy shit rasputin. hell of a way to kick off the year. sincere congrats.

    and damn that brown is lean.
    swing your fucking sword.

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    Way to go on the snow camping lifelink, the old lady must be cool to be dragging you out there.

    Well I have to print a retraction. I double checked the hash marks on my net handle, and it turns out the brown was just over 20 inches not 21.

    That said, after calling my dad yesterday to tell him about my big day Friday, he firmly admonished me to go fishing today. So after I dropped off the rent check, I went out to a different access that I hadn't fish for a while, only to find an out of state motorhome camping there, and another fisherman stringing up his rod. I talked to him for a few minutes before deciding to go elsewhere (he was a nice guy, who encouraged me to fish there actually). I thought about a couple other places but felt drawn back to where I'd fished Friday, following this draw was fortuitous.

    Before heading down to the area where I'd caught the big ones the other day, I threw into the a hole which has not been producing since the weather got cold. I flubbed my first cast dropping my rig into a shallow eddy where it sat anchored to the bottom. The second cast drifted down stream to just the right place, and had just the right response, indicator suddenly disappearing. The result was a rainbow just a eighth of an inch shorter that the brown trout was, and a lot thicker. My third twenty incher of the new year, this time a rainbow.


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    Last edited by Rasputin; 01-05-2025 at 07:37 PM.
    I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. -אלוהים אדירים

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    The sun came out for a while today, which looked pretty, and eventually I caught a couple plump troutfishes (as well as a whitefish, and also a little trout that bit in the on-the-way-home-never-catch-anything-hole, so that was nice).


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    Last edited by Rasputin; 01-09-2025 at 12:04 PM.
    I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. -אלוהים אדירים

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    I've been working a bit lately, and for other lame reasons, not fishing much . I had a couple uninspiring outings since my last post, that yielded a few, mostly medium sized whitefish, and one small trout. The weather's been colder the past few days, and this morning I saw new snow on the valley floor which spurred my superstitious expectation for good luck, and in spite of it already being 1:30pm, the voice in my head that I tend to believe is divine inspiration, told me that there'd be a fish that I'd be happy about catching, so I applied layers of warm clothes, and headed for the easiest fishing access.

    It was mid 20s when I left, with a slightly warm sun pushing through thin clouds, and I was enjoying being out there again, but the water level was down several inches, as is the result of cold weather freezing up the water in tributaries, and in parts of the main rivers. After a bit though, the wind kicked up and was utterly brutal on my hands, leading me to try fishing in insulated work gloves. I lost my second hook-up this way, but it let my hands return to a non-painful state. This was after catching a stout whitefish (below), who had three fresh talon marks on his left side. I thought to myself, ..."must be an eagle, osprey don't winter here", and as if in response, a juvenile bald eagle flew overhead.


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    I caught a few more whitefish before I decided that I'd had enough alternating between painfully cold hands (exacerbated by the need to de-ice the guides every few casts), and comfortably-very-clumsy gloved hands, so I headed back toward the truck. Just before leaving though, I tried my luck in the deep water just above the boat ramp, which has never provided me with a big fish (in fact last time out, a small trout I caught was the first fish I'd ever caught there), though I have always been quite sure they hold there, and as I soliloquized aloud about how it really seemed like there had to be some big fish in there, I got a strong take from an acrobatic rainbow, who wasn't a big fish, but jumped, and pulled, and was big enough to really make my day. That must have been the fish I was told I'd catch. Alleluia! The God of fly fishing provides once again!


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    Last edited by Rasputin; 01-19-2025 at 08:30 PM.
    I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. -אלוהים אדירים

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    Yesterday I completed the re-re-repair of my nine foot fly rod, and I am very pleased with the job I did. The first repair was botched, which lead to the need to repair it again, and also the second effort to salvage the first. However this time I was much more patient and measured in my approach. First sanding down a blank insert to fit snugly into place. For the glue, instead of the five-minute two-part Devcon epoxy, I chose JB Kwik, which has more than twice the tensile strength, and remains flexible after drying. After gluing the insert into the parted section of rod, I applied a layer of glue, allowed it to dry fully and sanded it level. Then I took a piece of loose woven cloth and glued one edge of it to the rod. After this was dried in place, it allowed me to wind the cloth with some tension over a layer of glue which permeated it, and created a glue reinforced cloth matrix Of course the outermost layer is glue atop the cloth) to join and hold the parts as one.

    Having assembled, and whipped the finished product around, it feels natural and lively as it did before I broke it. I know it may seem crazy to some that I'd bother to fix it (there is no warranty to use as the company no longer exists), rather than buy another rod, but really have no money to get a rod, and I really like making broken things work again. Also this rod was a gift from my dad, and after losing the previous rod he gave me, I was not willing to give up on what I had. I called him last night and excitedly bored him with the details of my triumphant repair, even as I am doing here. The end.
    I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. -אלוהים אדירים

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    What section of rod broke, and what kind of break? Anyway good job breathing some more life into it, and keep posting pics. If I could figure out how to post pictures, I will put up some steelhead photos from this year.
    whatever I feel like i what to do!

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    ^^^ The rod was broken about four inches from the butt of the second section, it was snapped in two. I'd had hastily stuffed it in two sections in a large backpack which I used to carry hip boots and other gear when I was biking to the river during the summer heat. It caught on a branch and broke clean through before I even noticed it was hung up.

    I would very much like to keep posting pics, but the site is broken currently. I went out yesterday, on a frigid but sunny day. The water was as low as I ever have seen it, so I had to scout out deeper water where the fish were holding. Once I found the right spot though, I caught a couple fifteen inch trout, one cutthroat, on rainbow, on consecutive casts, followed about ten minutes later by a big whitefish (almost seventeen inches). I'll post pics once I can.
    I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. -אלוהים אדירים

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    Yesterday was another cold, crisp, bluebird day on the river. I caught one nice rainbow, and a few smaller trout, all on a red copper John. At the boat ramp I met another fisherman who said he'd done well fishing dries, during a midge hatch, using a double Griffith's gnat set up.
    I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. -אלוהים אדירים

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    Local River just jumped from 4,000 cfs to a forecasted 168,000 cfs (currently around 160,000 cfs) with this latest blast of rain. Steelhead fishing will be on hold for a minute so I'll get back to other hobbies like snow.

    Rasputin, that is even more impressive that you repaired a clean break. I was thinking it was probably cracking at the ferrule. Nice work!
    whatever I feel like i what to do!

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    Quote Originally Posted by idiot View Post
    Local River just jumped from 4,000 cfs to a forecasted 168,000 cfs (currently around 160,000 cfs) with this latest blast of rain. Steelhead fishing will be on hold for a minute so I'll get back to other hobbies like snow.

    Rasputin, that is even more impressive that you repaired a clean break. I was thinking it was probably cracking at the ferrule. Nice work!
    It'll only be impressive if it holds up long term. So far I haven't been using it, my short rod is fine for pitching nymph rigs with an indicator, but come dry fly season I like the longer, slower action rod.
    I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. -אלוהים אדירים

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    I went fishing yesterday, and got skunked for the first time in a long while. However the God of flyfishing did direct me to the part of the river where I hooked up, and I was able to get the fish close enough to see which lure of my DB Prince/ BH worm right the fish had taken, before he popped off the hook.

    As I made my way back to my truck, I heard the whistling piping sound of a bald eagle they seem to use when they are calling their mates; I looked up and saw it in a nearby tree, and if TGR wasn't broken, I'd be posting a marginal picture of said eagle here.
    I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. -אלוהים אדירים

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    if you are in the market for an inexpensive pair of sunglasses, here's a 15% off discount code for Fish 4:19

    VIPCLUB25

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    mike tyson

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