Nine By Nine

Trout Fishing 2009/2010 Day Five Fishing

Although this morning I was feeling one-hundred percent better than twenty-four hours prior, I started not to even go to Blue with this being my next to last day of vacation. I figured my old body could use a rest and there are plenty of chores to do around the bunkhouse and most importantly the boss wants them done. However, with a little more thought I concluded that I can rest tomorrow and also get the chores done. So, in the Prairie Schooner I went.

I arrived at the parking lot at 7:35 and walked down to the crossing and went about twenty-five feet upstream to Cottonwood Hole. The water at Cottonwood Hole is extremely easy to read and it didn't take me long to spot a slightly downstream pocket. With the same olive/yellow split tail bugger I've been using all week, I started drifting that fly through the pocket.



The bugger found seven bows in a very short order. There were two other fly-fishers standing on the crossing casting upstream and they weren't having any luck at all. After bow seven I spooled up and got the attention of one of the crossing fly-fishers and suggested he take that pocket before someone else got it. He nodded he would and I hope he did. He should have made a killing there.

Looking downstream there was a rather tall fly-fisher standing on the sandbar which was amazing to me with the river being up. From a distance it looked like Dr. David but I couldn't be sure. Even if it was it wouldn't have done me any good to go down there, because my short ass can't get out on the sandbar. If it was Dr. David I am sure he did well there... or at least I hope he did.

I was back in the Prairie Schooner by 8 o'clock. I looked over at Smitty's camp but he wasn't up yet. His pups were quite rowdy though. I decided to go down on Area 1 and have a look.

There were a lot of campers today in Area 1 but few fishing. Guess I could of had any water I wanted but chose to stop at Glory Hole.

At Glory Hole, with the same fly, I decided to fish the downstream end of that stretch. Trying to drift that bugger through the downstream end is quite a chore because the water really speeds up there, but I was able to catch two more bows in about five minutes.

I learn something each trout season and this past five days I've learned the importance of manipulating and feeding your fly into a pocket. To do that requires a lot of extra work but if you can get it down it will result in more hook-ups.

After the two bows at Glory I had decided to go back to the bunkhouse. Up on the road I ran into young Cody and he was riggin' his fly rod. Cody is not so young anymore...he's got his own pickup and he's driving. Guess Cody is coming of age. He politely informed me his intentions of entering the fly-fishing division at the trout derby and I hope he does. Cody may just be a teenager but he's good enough to win...I guarantee it.

I was back in the Prairie Schooner by nine o'clock and had nine bows under the belt so it was nine by nine today.

Tomorrow I'll rest.