All The Way

Watching a wild trout land into the bottom of my net is always a thrill. On average, I catch trout in the 8" to 14" size within my home waters, and also in most of the small streams I fish across the Southwest. I say that because it's not what I consider a "fight" with these trout, as to what I experience on the San Juan River with 20 plus inches of fat, angry rainbows, and browns. No, when I have a tight line with my Leetle Fellers, it's more like a dance...a fast dance.

On very narrow streams,  the most important objective when setting the hook is to keep feisty trout from darting into the undercut of the bank...they can get there in a flash! To manage this, upon setting the hook, I squeeze the line between my finger and grip, and slowly strip line, while keeping the trout in open water. There is no time or enough stream width to get the trout on my reel. And that's why I love Winston fly rods...the tip section is magic, as it flexes with head shakes and tugs. I honestly can say I land more trout with a Winston than I do with any other make of rod.

I do like to put the trout on the reel as soon as possible when I'm on medium to large sized streams. The moment the fish takes a pause or two, I'll quickly wind in the line to get him on the drag, and will palm the spool as needed for extra drag (if needed). When possible, I'll keep my position downstream of him, and bring him all the way into the net, allowing the current to assist me. Of course, it doesn't always play out neat and pretty like that.

Small stream fishing is my preferred fishing environment. And in any given year, I will fish around seventy days, with most of those being day trips to home waters. Life is short, and because of that, I try to be in the moment and savor every second I'm fly fishing. And, to have adventures in beautiful landscapes, with mountains, trout streams, and in a region rich with culture and history, I am truly thankful!