Splashing water

It was our last fishing day in Varzina camp and our team had lower part of river for us. My guests walked before me to S-bend, it is pool which you don’t know what gonna happen. There might be salmon or trout but there is always fish. I checked some spots and learned river more and let my guests go to have first casts. When I arrived to pool about 1 hour after guests, I heard that they had some action. Nick had strike and right away he was running out line and backing so, he was forced to stop fish and tippet cutted. Also they told me that there is lot of rises, or more like jumps and quite soon I saw one by myself.

River was running to left from us and there was extremely heavy wind coming from left. Place where fished is kind of neck of stream but on our right side it was almost like a pond. There was big waves because of wind and casting was challenging. Back-casting was easy because there was bank which was covering wind but when making front cast…. well, wind was right over there and blowing sideway. We got some rises for our flies but nothing really happen. X was using wooly bugger and I was watching from rock. Suddenly in the middle of stream I saw that there was take and before I realize line was going downstream just on my feets. I remember X asking what he should do and I told him to run after but it was kind of place that he didn’t have chance. So I told him to stop the fish (I knew that next possible stop for fish was about 100 m downstream behind rocks and cliff) Of course he lost it, he didn’t have any chance with that one.

So it was my turn to try. I got some rises but not really take. I started to cast and try to get fly over river on the other side where I saw some jumps before. Distance was about 25 meters. I was sloppy when casting and I really splashed water on middle of river. X was giving note about that right away, that I will spook the fish and of course I said that it doesn’t matter because of waves. (My real answer you can see from photos but it is with lot of love). Kind of he was right because whipping or splashing water will spook fish normally but in heavy stream or with big waves, I have noticed that it doesn’t really matter, especially if you don’t do it right over fish. He said that we won’t get anything from here now and he started to go upstream (he found good spot and got awesome dry fly fishing later). I decided to stay because I was sure that I will get something (it was more like, I won’t leave before I got that rising fish, which I saw)

Satu was staying with me and I kept fishing. I was using dry fly size 10. I got rise but fish reject it on last minute. So I changed to smaller one, size 12 and same result. I changed again. This time size 12, kind of wing from foam and small hackle from CDC. Basicly just hook and something behind eye. I got take but I couldn’t hook. Second try and boom… furios take and right away fish took 30 meter run upstream to pond and start to jump. After first jump I noticed that it could be salmon but I wasn’t sure. More jumps and I was sure that it is salmon not trout which was funny because take was like trout. After a while I got fish closer to me and started to plan netting when it made his last escape attemp. That was jump against me, well not totally but he jumped on my direction but I was able to keep him hooked. Nice take, nice fight and beautiful salmon. I got my fish despite splashing water.

It is true that you will spook fish if you splash water when casting but there is few exceptions. Like heavy stream or fast water otherwise, big waves or if you can do it like purpose. I mean that sometimes you can active fish with small splash. But that one you need to practise and a lot. Sometimes you can hit water quite hard but lift has to be gentle. That how you can kind of imitate fish rise which might active fishes around. This is kind of gamble but it might give great reward like any gambling.

Have a nice weekend

Mika from Finland