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Catching a Decent Trout
Monday, May 14. 2007
Not a rise. If a friend hadn't assured me that this pool was the home of "some decent trout" I would have thought the water barren. Then it came to me! With all my flies I had been appealing to the trouts' sense of sight... but what about their sense of decency?...
These fish, if indeed they existed, had been blithely ignoring all my offerings. Surely, that was a shameful thing for any "decent" trout to do!
I stationed myself on a rock in mid-stream and began to regard the pool with disdain - beginning with moderate annoyance I accellerated through active pique, arriving within seconds at a withering scorn. After a few minutes I noticed a "nice" fourteen inch brown roll to the surface in humble chagrin... but I casually ignored him. A moment later a sixteen inch rainbow with a visible blush on its cheek wallowed in the tail of the pool. I glared at it with a Force Five Contempt - it gave a few feeble wiggles of its pectoral fin in mute apology and then died of shame. Rushing downriver, I netted my first "decent trout" as it drifted slowly by. My second fish, a very decent fifteen inch brookie, was taken on a single glance of reproach cast to the eddy behind a boulder.
Since then I have refined the practice, having learned the following:
Chub are delicate, very decent creatures, be wary of careless glowering unless you want to clean up a massive fish-kill. Some people will ascribe decency to a trout simply because it is large. Cutthroat trout, on the other hand, are usually perfectly decent when young but by the time they are six inches or so, begin to live up to their name and are soon beyond remorse. I attribute this to a problem in the schools. Recoil is to be expected. Some fish are not susceptible to this approach. For example, Comely Shiners (Notropis amoenus) are narcissistic and untouched by the regard of others, Black Crappie are beneath contempt, and Largemouth Bass are, no matter what, totally unabashed. Northern Pike have been known to shed a tear of regret, but their sincerity is questionable. Catch and release is not an option. They don't call it "mortification" casually, any truly decent trout who has once experienced near-fatal chagrin will never be the same. He will sink lower in the pool, leave school, begin to consort with suckers and other bottom-feeders, and eventually, consumed by remorse, be caught by a passing heron.
I do not recommend this method of fishing as a frequent practice. Someone adept at this understands moderation - a river can be depleted of decent, humble, self-effacing trout within days. The wise angler follows the adage "A trout is too great a resource to be scorned - except in moderation."
© 2006 Reed F. Curry
I was careful not to provide any of the fine points of presentation. You will note that the mere mention of Bowmore was enough to draw the attention of a Scot (Alistair).
The technique requires considerable experience in casting...aspersions. I will say no more.
Best regards,
Reed
Alistair
It is an ancient Scottish technique, attributed to a member of Clan Donald, a MacDonald of Glencoe, who, ruminating on the disaster by a stream one day, emitted such a glower (from Scots - glowren) that one hundred fine finny beasts floated to the surface. This fishing technique was a strict clan secret until the Clearances when it was introduced to Nova Scotia - the clan silence was broken over a bottle of Newfie Screech.
It does not work with polaroids as the fish will doubt your sincerity.
Best regards,
Reed
Your dear mother probably desperately wished to tell you the secret, but, since you are half Sassenach she could not. It is as well.
Best regards,
Reed
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Comments
Wed, 10.12.2008 08:32
That's an interesting observation - and you're correct as always. I've always used [...]
Sat, 06.12.2008 18:14
I only fish drys and soft hackles. Do I get shunked ? You bet. The last trout I took on [...]
Thu, 04.12.2008 06:29
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Wed, 03.12.2008 21:05
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Mon, 17.11.2008 13:50
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