Northwest Reel Life April 2023 Volume 2 Issue 9 - Flipbook - Page 11
manifests, chases the vole,
swirls and smashes on it but
misses. Then it swirls and
smashes again only to miss
the vole again. Just when
we all thought the show was
over the trout comes back for
one last grab. Third times a
charm right. Nope. Another
swing and miss precluded
with a full body leap out of the
water to come crashing down
on top of the vole, missing
completely. All the while this
vole is still just swimming.
Doing its thing. While I am
sure the thing was horrified
beyond belief, it didn’t change
its pace or course. Probably
because it wasn't capable of
physically fighting the river
current. The fourth and final
attempt from the rainbow
proved worthy but not
without show. The fish came
back waking the even more
shallow water like a great
white shark chasing a seal.
It literally powered its way
through six inches of water to
annihilate the vole just before
it reached the other side of
the narrow river channel.
Pure unforgiving brutality. I
and my Swiss clients stood
there looking at each other.
Until that moment, we had
all struggled with a language
barrier. they didn't speak
much English and I didn’t
speak Romansch. Once that
rainbow crushed the vole, we
all understood what needed
to happen and it did.
The first pass with a “mouse”
pattern fly was nothing less
than epic. Three chases and
then a hook up. Next guy
cast and had four chases and
then hooked up. This went
on all day and the rest of the
week. At one point, I even
took all the flies out of my
pack except mice. The fact
that they witnessed the initial
sacrificial lamb significantly
flattened the curve. They
knew not to set the hook until
they felt weight on the hook.
Like the precision watches the
guys built, with systematical
precision they took apart
the entire river and covered
every bit of water with mouse
patterns. All week.
Now I have clients that book
for Alaska specifically when
“mousing” is peak. Usually,
June and July. They bring
only mouse pattern flies, and
floating seven weight lines
on 9’ rods. Most folks bring
two rods, just in case the
unspeakable happens. The
bush isn’t a place to not be
prepared but, that’s another
story.......
JULY 2023 | 11