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Home > Fishing Articles
FISHING ARTICLES
Freshwater Fishing Articles
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So You Want To Be A Fisherman
By Stan Moore
We all have visions of
what it takes to be an adventurer and outdoorsman.
Well, bare with me, as I tell you how you may someday
catch all the trout you want and brave the outdoor
life without getting into trouble as those Hollywood
chaps would have you believe. First of all this is not
a comedy and it is not a farce. This story is a
compilation of my thirty eight years of fishing
experience. I have been an outdoorsman all my life,
except for the last five, which I regret, because I
love to fish, hunt, and camp in the wild places of
America.
It all starts on an uneventful day in the winter
months. I have these fantasies of a great granddaddy
of a Rainbow as it grabs my bait on the other end of a
line which is floating down to a swirl of water in
front of the Rainbow's mouth. The trout is naturally
swimming with its head upstream waiting for any morsel
that may happen along into its unsuspecting jaws. This
is the way of all fish except those in the lakes and
oceans which I will not speculate on in this writing,
because these fish have different habits and are much
slower to feed than the trout. These trout are the
ones in the thousands of streams throughout the United
States and the world. These same trout are the ones
which seem to be the hardest to catch and the most
ferocious when they attack your bait.
The reason these trout are so ferocious is the fact
that they are in a cold stream and their body
temperature has a great deal to do with their activity
and feeding habits. Their body temperature is
controlled by their surroundings and if the
temperature of the water is colder the fish are more
aggressive. That is why I like to go fishing in the
early spring when the snow melt is just beginning. But
just beware, because if you don't time it just right
you may end up not fishing at all, because the trout
may seem to disappear when the big spring runoff
begins. If this happens you will have to wait until
the water's raging flow has subsided and small eddies
and pools are formed again. Well, if you really want
to catch fish, you may want to go to the lakes where
the rivers and streams are just entering the lake, but
my best place in this case is across the lake from
there. Why? Well, I have to honestly say the trout are
caught in the onrush of the spring runoff and are
carried there. Even though some of you may not believe
me, but I have caught a dozen two pound trout this way
all in one day! If you don't believe me, now, you have
never experienced the thrill of a big catch of trout.
Another thing, I should mention, and that is about the
fancy new lures and gadgets the manufactures
supposedly say are real trout killers. Well, you are
not a fisherman if you have not tried some of these.
Even though most of them are a bunch of junk which
should be used for designing the statue of a foolhardy
fisherman. If you really want to catch trout, I know
I'm going to be backlashed, for this statement by the
industries that make them, but enough is enough! As I
was saying, you don't need nothing to catch a trout,
except a little line a hook and a worm! The bait that
will catch any trout and this is guarantied. Whether
you believe it or not. This is all you need, except to
know where the trout are. This is the tricky part and
I can not tell you all my secrets or there will not be
any trout in America for me to catch, but I will tell
you a few fishing stories, now, and maybe you can
catch some of my pointers hidden away within the text.
It all started, like I said, in the winter. While I
dreamed of this monster trout and maybe its brother. I
usually catch at least two trout in the same hole,
even though there may not seem to be that many. The
water is a tricky subject in its own rights. I was
fishing along a stretch of creek in the Bighorn
Mountains, one day, when I came to a cliff looming in
front of me. The shadow of the cliff was cast over the
stream and I could not see the eddies and pool that
was formed until I had passed them. I stopped in my
tracks and backed up. As I did so, I crouched low so
the trout, if it did see me, would think I had
disappeared. I was almost on my knees and then I was
on my knees as I baited my hook with a juicy
nightcrawler. I had a couple of hours of daylight left
and had only caught a couple of trout since noon.
Well, let me tell you, I was not to go home with an
empty creel that day! I put my bait on a single hook
and then put a small sinker on my line about two feet
above the hook, sometimes three. I then cast my line
about five feet out in front of me and let the bait,
line, and sinker float down into the pool that was
formed against the cliff. I let my line dangle on my
finger as I lowered the pole to let the weight of the
sinker take the line under the pool. I felt a nibble!
The second time, I gave the pole a slight jerk back
with my wrist and the fish was hooked! With all the
commotion the trout made, you would have thought I was
fighting a Marlin! I didn't have to move for another
hour as I caught my limit which was ten trout! I was a
happy fisherman as I went back to camp with a creel
full of fish. My buddies had managed to catch a
couple. I showed them the hole the next day and they
began to fish in it! I told them that trout can smell
man's presence and there would not be any trout there
for at least another month. They could not believe me!
They thought I was making up this nonsense. I told
them to suit themselves, but the fishing would be
better if we walked further upstream. It doesn't
matter which way you walk when it comes to catching
trout. I was just pulling their leg. What did matter,
was when you approached a hole, you should be upstream
from the trout, because the bait if flowing naturally
will tend to travel down stream, unless it is
swimming. At any rate, I was having fun, doing what I
liked and enjoying some of the most spectacular
scenery in the world.
My next experience was one of catching the trout where
no man wants to go, into rugged terrain. I was walking
toward this place, now, with a couple of fishing
companions, whom thought fishing was an easy
experience. We listened to the quietness of the
surrounding woods and the chatter of the various birds
and squirrels and ground chucks as we passed them. We
climbed over rocks and around fallen logs and brush as
we approached the creek. The rush of water could be
heard down in the steep canyon as the three of us
climbed even higher into the rugged wilderness of the
Bighorns. The stream was located just off the main
highway and passed under that same highway, but was
almost impossible to see from the road except when the
spring runoff reached its peak. This was late spring,
and early summer as we came over a rise and saw the
small river down in the canyon. I have never been to
the top, except when I was fishing on the lake above,
where this creek was flowing from. We made our way
down to the stream and saw many pools and were excited
at the prospect of bagging our limit of trout. My
friends decided they have had enough climbing and went
on down stream. Which goes to prove, they were simply
not interested in catching trout. I walked further
upstream, until I came to a huge dam which was formed
by several trees fallen in a previous flood. There is
where I made my catch of a lifetime, just about every
year. I baited my hook and secured my lead weighted
sinker, this time two, because of the swiftness of the
current down stream and because of the depth of the
dam. I waited patiently and was rewarded with my first
strike of the day! A huge trout had bitten my bait
with the ferociousness of a shark! I played him by not
letting the line become slack and what a spectacular
sight he was when he jumped out of the pristine
waters. His rainbow of colors shone in the late
afternoon sun and made my mouth water as I set my hook
deeper by giving a little tug on the line. Not too
much, mind you, for that would have been disastrous.
I, as a fisherman, losing this prize would be
humiliating. Not that anybody would know, but I would,
and I was the one who counted, here, in this land
where I was truly alone. My nearest companions were no
where to be seen, but I still wanted to show mother
nature that I was a good fisherman. I caught four more
from that hole and wondered where my companions were.
I have always caught at least five two to one and a
half pound Rainbows from that hole. I keep dreaming of
that wilderness, even now, and hope someday to return
where luck and chance will play out its drama on the
mountain.
As I walked down the canyon and witnessed the rebirth
of spring, the night sky was upon me before I reached
the bottom of the rocky canyon. I decided to spend the
night on the mountain instead of chancing my fragile
body among the huge boulders and downfallen trees of
the canyon. I built a small fire and went the side of
the creek where I cleaned my fish and set them in a
cool pool, except one which I took back to camp with
me. Along the way, I cut a green bough from a willow
with my pocket knife, which no outdoorsman should be
without. As I made a fire and placed the fish on the
willow, I roasted it over the coals of the fire I had
previously made with plenty of matches. I enjoyed
myself as I ate my supper and fell asleep under my
coat and the stars.
In all my life spent in the great outdoors, these are
among my favorite fishing holes and ways to catch
trout. If you happen to come across a valley which has
multitudes of mosquitoes, please, do not continue or
go back. This is my gift to you as this valley
contains more trout than you will ever find in your
fishing experience. You have found what I term as a
treasure chest of untold wealth, if you are a
fisherman!
Good Luck.
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