Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Touching the Cool Waters of the Sipsey Again

Today’s trip was not about landing trout on the Sipsey but a time for me to reflect back on the many storied trips I’ve had on this beautiful tailrace. Sure a colorful rainbow would be nice to bend my 3 weight, but the excitement of just watching my fly gently light on the Sip’s surface took precedence over the catch.
 This was my first fishing trip since August 29th, 2017 when I hurt my back and had to have two Epidurals to get back on my feet. Close to five months is a long time to go without wetting a fly for me; so to say I was pumped about getting to fish was an understatement.
  I was anxious to try my new Orvis Battenkill II reel my son gave me for Christmas. I paired it up with my Hardy Streamflex 3 weight. What impressed me about this reel was the narrow spool to reduce line stacking and of course the lightness.


l put the combo to work within five minutes of wading into position in one of my favorite holes on the tailrace. This beautiful rainbow nailed the Copper John as it was drifting down one of the many runs located on the lower end of the tailrace; a lot of fun on the 3 weight.

The tailrace was higher then I like to fish it, but I didn’t care; I was back on my home waters and that was all that matter to me.
My wading staff was my best friend today as I maneuvered through all the rocks on the floor of the gorge. I saw one guy take a spill on the slippery rocks; luckily he didn’t damage his wrist and knee. 
Faster water was the turn on for all the trout I landed during the four-hour trip. This bow was taken as my nymph floated over a few submerged logs. I lost a couple other trout in the run due to breaking off in the logs. I questioned myself for using the 3 weight after losing two quality trout in this run, but again being here today was more important than the loss of a few trout. I know I’ll have many more trips to redeem myself.

15 comments:

  1. Welcome back! Water has a way of healing all wounds. :)

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  2. Bill, this is the best post I've read in a long time. You're home! There's nothing like those old familiar home waters to get the blood pumping. Looking forward to more of this.

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  3. Bill it's great to see you back at it. The feeling must have been awesome.
    The 3wt set up should do you well, your not under gunned.

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  4. Ralph
    The best therapy there is-----thanks for the comment

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  5. Howard
    I would have happy even if I hadn't landed a single trout; just to be in the gorge again would have been enough for me that day. Thanks for your comment

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  6. They say you can't go home again. You just proved them wrong. Good to have you back on home waters. Also glad to see you using the "third leg". Hooyah...........

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  7. Mark
    So true---to make the trip even better was a 66 degree day. It will be a while before I make another trip due to extremely cold. Thanks for the comment

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  8. Alan
    I can't think of a better way to spend the day----thanks for the comment

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  9. Nice going Bill! Nice to see you are getting back to fishing

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  10. Very glad to hear this, Bill. I wish you many happy outings on the home river this year.

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  11. Walt
    I hope my back will allow me to make many more trips on the Sipsey. Thanks for the comment

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  12. Mark
    I've been watching the weather for about a week to make the trip; the fishing Gods gave me a terrific day--thanks for the comment

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  13. Lester
    As you know back problems can devastating, with all the pain it brings, thankful your surgery was successful; hopefully watching the amount of weight I pick up will help me avoid back surgery in the future.
    The three weight is my go to fly rod on the Sipsey, simply because of the size of the trout there, sure one might tie into a holdover occasionally which a 3 wt. will handle if one has the patience to land the trout; individuals using 5 and 6 weights fly rods on this tailrace is a bit overkill! Thanks for the comment

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  14. You shoulda let me know you were back in AL. I would've loved to have joined you. It's been a long time.

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  15. Great to see that you're back out there fishing, again. Like you said, you'll have more opportunities to get out there and lose more fish. :)

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