My time in Richmond is rapidly drawing to a close and I wanted to get in one more trout fishing trip before I left. I've also somewhat recently developed an interest/fascination with bamboo rods and was hoping to fit in a trip to a rod maker in Virginia before I left as well. As this weekend was my last full weekend in Richmond, yesterday I went to the mountains. I decided to head to the Dry River again as the Ramsey's Draft, my first choice, was probably too low to fish. I set out at 5:30 which was just about as early as I could drag myself out of the house. I was streamside just a little over 2 hours later and began the day of fishing. My dad lent me his bamboo rod to try it out and see if I actually enjoy fishing grass as my interest up to this point had really been academic.
The weapon of the day - Thanks to my dad for letting me borrow it
Bamboo rod in hand, I headed to the river. After only a few steps in the water, I noticed my left foot beginning to feel significantly cooler than my right. Probably not a good sign for the integrity of my hippers but I haven't had a chance to check them yet. It was going to be a warm day though and as the day wore on it was kind of nice. I was seeing scattered rises almost immediately but not nearly as many or as aggressive as my last trip. I started fishing drys and within short order began getting strikes. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get a good hookup (like college all over again). I was beginning to get just a little bit frustrated before I finally started getting some of the fish to hand. The bamboo was a lot of fun and it made even the tiny mountain brookies feel like leviathans. I even managed to land a pretty nice fish, keeping him in the water until I was able to fumble my iPhone out of my waterproof pocket. He swam away with rather gratifying vigor after posing for my picture.
The quarry
I came across the improvised wooden troll shelter again, which fortunately remains unoccupied. Managed some good action on dry flies but as noon approached the fishing slowed somewhat. I managed to land one more and called it a day to go try my hand at casting some Rick Robbins bamboo rods.
I found Rick's rods after hearing good things about him from Griz, the bamboo aficionado at Urban Angler in northern Virginia. I stopped in at his workshop near Lexington, VA. It's a nice little place with a commute of about 55 steps from his house. He was kind enough to show me around the workshop and teach me a little bit about bamboo rod making. Rick is a tremendous wealth of knowledge and it was certainly worth the trip. At the end of the trip I cast some of his rods and was quite impressed. I particularly enjoyed casting his 3 piece models and I'll definitely keep him in mind when I finally get the chance to buy my own first bamboo rod...
The Days Stats:
ReplyDeleteDry River and Skidmore Fork - 6/12/2010
Water temp 57 at about 08:30 hrs on the main stem and 54 upstream on the Skidmore fork at 13:15 hrs.
The air temp was 72 at about 08:30 hrs and 81 at 13:15.
Water level was still pretty good. It started raining just as I was getting into the car.
Fish were still rising but less frequently and less aggressively than on the last trip. Saw maybe a few mayflies, including one eastern green drake, and one small yellow sally.
Caught a good number of fish but missed a ton of strikes. Caught a few fish early on a size 14 parachute Adams before I cut it off after it was swallowed. Also caught a number on a size 14 parachute Mr Rapidan. Tried a sz 14-16 yellow sally and size 14 ant with a few strikes but few/no fish. Used a 9' 5X Murray's type leader.
Heard a few gunshots off to the East again but not nearly as many as the prior trip.