Fellowship of the Fly Rods – An informal get together at Fish Valley
Fellowship of the Fly Rods An informal get together at Fish Valley Brandon Ho FFI CCI Standing behind the wooden fence, we scanned the water surface for signs of fish. The floating buns only attracted nibbles from small fish. The monsters we were looking for had not shown up. Tossing a few more buns into the water, we waited but this time, we didn’t have to wait long. A huge mouth open and swallowed the fist sized bun. Almost immediately, another bun disappeared. Wasting no time, we rushed to grab our rods. By the time we got back to the spot, the water had all but became calm. Clevin took up position, took a bun and threw in to a spot 30 feet away. We looked at him with a frown. “These pacu are too smart to come so near. Throw it further out” He took another bun, concentrated and then arched back to deliver the bun… and it landed next to the first bun! We stared at him and he looked at the two floating buns in disbelieve. Determined, he position a row of buns on the wooden fence and released a barrage of flying buns outward. They landed slightly further. Now, it was waiting time. Soon, the small nibbles gave way to larger splashes. More buns were tossed in, until the fish could be seen rolling over the bread. Time to cast! Armed with #6 rods, the fly needed to be delivered within a few cast, usually not more than 3 casts. Casting flies as large as #1 was not easy, especially on the #6 rod. The wind was not making things any easier. The fly was cast a few feet beyond the frenzy and allowed to sink slowly to where the fish are holding. The fluorocarbon leader is perfect as the line is denser than monofilament and sinks better. It is also almost invisible under water, great for spooky fish. As the line is slowly sinking, stay focus as the line could shoot out anytime. Darrell got the first hookup and the smallish Pacu was brought in without much effort. Then it was Nic with a slightly better fish. Everyone was hooking and fighting fish. Soon the late morning sun was getting too hot and we retreated to our usual table under the gazebo for an early lunch. Soon, our friends started arriving. Taking time to set up their gear, they then proceeded to carry out the routine of Pacu fishing. They have perfected the art of catching Pacu. One was given the task of tossing buns while the others stood on standby to cast. The buns had to made available continuously to ensure the fish stayed in the area. When someone caught a fish, one person was waiting by the bank with a landing net. This well-polished team work like the professional pit stop crew. You will want to fish with these guys. More and more people turned up and these were the big names in the local fly fishing scene. It was fun to watch them fish. Each with their unique technique and secret flies but the secret was generously shared. Even flies were offered freely to be tried. Talk about sharing the passion for this sport. If people wanted to see how real gentlemen fish, all they need to do was to fish with them. They don’t call fly fishing a gentlemen sport for nothing! At the end of the day, Clevin emerged the winner with the most number of hook up. This was not attributed to luck. His 11” Switch rod made casting easy and with a single dynamic roll cast, he could send the heavy fly 70 to 80 feet away, even in the wind. The bigger fish that were smarter usually feed further out and the rod made it easy for him to target them. It was an incredible informal gathering. Fish were caught, secrets were shared and jokes were laughed at. What else would one ask for on a fishing trip? I’ll let the photos tell the rest of the story. ~More Gallery Click Here~