Battling a Gargantuan Rainbow in a Tiny Stream 5-7-2010 - Jeff Wilkins ...

The day was Friday May 7, 2010. Diane Bertrand had joined me for a day of fishing on the splendid private spring creek I have access to. It is a fish haven, full of large fish and some gigantic rainbows. We started on the lower end and caught some fish, even some large ones, and Diane was getting warmed up for what was to come.

Little did I know I was about to witness a near perfect job of playing fish. We would tie on a fly, I'd give Diane a tip or two on where to cast, watch the drift, see the fish take, set the hook, and then the arduous task of landing a fish of gigantic proportions. Let me tell you....this ain't easy!!!! There are a lot of fly anglers that would have broken those fish off. But not Diane, she did everything I suggested, just as I instructed her.....and the result was almost every beast we hooked, which was probably at least a dozen fish over 20 inches, every one of them except maybe one I can remember ended up in the net. It takes a near perfect job of line control and rod control to pull that off. I mean when a six pound tippet separates you and a 10-12 lb fish who is dashing wildly, jumping, thrashing, head shaking......simply put bad things can happen. Unless you play them like Diane did. It was great....and a lot of fun to watch.

That is why Diane has now earned the nickname "The Dutchess of Trout...".

What A Great Winter To Learn To Tie...

I have probably heard that more this year than ever....with all the snow and bad weather its been that kind of winter. I think we had about five consecutive no fishing weekends, weekends where most folks couldnt get out and fish. We continued to do our guided trips, and we did have some great trips, but fishing in below freezing temperatures and snow more than ever.

And if ever there were fly tying opportunities there were plenty of those. I had several folks say..."why didnt you press me to learn tying this year? Would have been a perfect time." I guess my reply would be you get into tying when the bug gets the best of you. And one last thing, you wont get into it and save money....what a joke! You will probably spend more! Well, might as wel be honest....

www.jeffwilkinsflyfishing.com
"Where Fly Fishing is a Professional Passion"

This is Almost Unbelievable.....

This is truly amazing....the bird definitely uses everything at his disposal...this is absolutely incredible. I'm glad no one left a fly rod laying on the sand...

A Peachy Paradise.....

Until the past week I had not spent much time in this part of Georgia,.....now regrettably I must say. It is such a beautiful place. Some of the most spectacular scenery you'll see anywhere, great hospitality, good trout angling from small streams to spring creeks to tailwaters, a little bit of everything.

And some monster trout in some waters. On a recent trip to the Soque near Clarkesville, GA and Batesville, GA the group I was with caught probably 30 fish over 20 inches....it was absurd. Huge fish, like we have here in our private waters. Fish that you'd more expect to come from Alaska and not the South.

This morning I told my wife that outside of a spectacular mountain range like the Beartooths in Montana, the Sawtooths in Idaho, the Tetons or Winds in Wyoming and the spectacular vistas that go with them we have really just as good fishing here and the fish are just as big and often larger. Its the Western experience that we are often after. But if its large fish.......we have those here!

How to Hand Feed a Pike....Well, not Exactly

This would sure get your attention. Here a gentleman is releasing a fish and an unseen northern pike almost gets a chunk of his hand while he's doing it:

Dry Fly Fishing in the Dead of Winter.....Things are Very Alive!

Here's a video clip of my recent trip with Tom Wolff. I had mentioned to Tom that I thought our chances of getting into some dry fly fishing was pretty good. "Really? " I think that was what he asked. I knew that where we were headed it was a real possibility. Rare is the day when these fish don't rise. A high water spate is the only thing that limits it....and then the subsurface fishing is to die for. Simply put, in my book it is the king of small creeks. Compared to the Smith River this stream is a ditch by size comparison. But I dare say that one mile of this creek has more trout than any mile - - Yes I said any mile- - of the Smith River. And many rivers for that matter. And where else do you find a thirty fish dry fly day in the middle of winter when its 20F, heavy snow on the ground, and snow showers in the air?.......We are now doing trips here year round...Let's go fishing!

Here'a a short clip of Tom casting to a rising rainbow which he caught. A pretty nice feat, given that Tom is right handed and he's going at it with his left. Impressive!

Dry Fly Heaven......? Pretty Close I'd Say...

Dry Fly Heaven from Jah Raven Creation on Vimeo.

Go ahead and get a towel, you are going to need one after the saliva this one produces. It is awesome.....a good dreamy video to help you make it through our winter doldrums.....Enjoy!