Bored Nymph Fishermen’s Medicine………

Trophy Waters Twitcher (click image for detail)

My Flyfishing mentor reminds me that all new fly patterns are variations of existing patterns. I agree with him. My current favorite for skating, or swinging steelhead right now on the Upper Rogue River is not exempt. The last three weeks have yielded many evening grabs for me. On a completed variation of a fall caddis pattern, long in the making. The pattern is dubbed the "Trophy Waters Twitcher". I have not had very good fishing with this pattern for the morning grab since the water temperature moved down from the mid 50's. I love the shape, this pattern has, of the fall caddis . I love the magnetic affinity steelhead flaunt for the color red. This is why my variation has an orange butt-and a bright red body. It’s the silhouette fall steelhead pinpoint. It’s the color they oppose, actively, and with force.

Directions for medication: Hitch it and skate it, or, clinch it and swing it. **WARNING** alcohol can intensify the effects of this fly pattern. Avoid prolonged exposure to sun light while taking this medicine. To experience best results, take this prescription twice a day with a meal.

The failure of success is the most powerful rerouting of an obvious solution. Knowing the best solution to succeed, executing it , and not succeeding is far more unexplainable than attempting the same execution in the non advantageous setting. Hence, swinging a fly on a dry line during an obvious Nymphing situation.

I remember a great round of golf, when I was a young hot head, gone bad. After a blistering front nine with my father, the first three holes of the back nine were a catastrophe. On the short, uphill 110 yd., Par 3, 13th hole I clenched my 5 iron instead of my wedge. My dad reminded me at address of my current level of maturity. I reminded my dad on the 14th tee that I just birdied a ticklish par 3 using only a 5 iron. Too old to receive the spanking I deserved, he instead insisted, that I was afraid to use the proper club selection because of the chance to face failure if I couldn’t achieve par with the proper club selection. I, knowing that I was too old to receive the spanking I deserved, disrespectfully disputed that I was bored with the game and wanted to try something different than the most effective method. Something original. If the literate public was doing what is always the most routine and functional, and not probing their driving curiosity; Hugh Hefner would be a very horny, unknown, minimum wage employee somewhere. And the general public would be reading Webster’s Dictionary, with pictures, for recreation. (I apologize to all lady fly fishers, kind enough to read this article, for using a gender specific analogy.)

It’s this primal rebellion against hitting “the right club” every single fricken time, in combination with some dam sexy new tying materials that drive the subtle changes in “new” fly patterns.

Somewhere, segmented in the most remote locality of the brain, around the corner from routine thoughts, is a bleacher-less gymnasium packed full of random original ideas only reachable with the powerful opiate of curiosity;…… and a fly rod in your hand. It’s fishing, the activity, that gives us the ability to access this wonderful cerebral chamber, its time on the water that keeps us there. The purest form of curiosity only obtainable and answered during off work, recreational activities; with no out of bounds stakes, winners or losers, or fastest times. Combine this inherent inner originality of junkie fly fishers with the ability of Fall Caddis to excite steelhead in rivers currents way to cold to expect a daily groove of assent, and FISH ON!!! You’ve got bored nymph fishermen’s medicine. HAPPY OCTOBER EVERYBODY!!

 
#6 and #8 hooks work best on the Rogue River. Set your favorite size iron in the vise and spin-up this simple recipe to try on your home water this fall. Every once in a while, you can birdie a short par three with a five iron.

I look forward to sharing a piece of water with you sometime……………

Todd Ostenson

Trophy Waters Flyfishing Shop