2014 Summer Trout Slam

2014 was one busy, fishing summer for me. I wouldn’t have had it any other way; much of my childhood was spent thinking about fishing for trout in moving waters and just a couple of weeks ago, while down in Arkansas…fishing below Norfork Lake, I was able to complete my five fish trout slam; brown, rainbow, brook, cutthroat and lake trout!

I can’t or won’t say that one fish was more special than the other…but let’s start with the last fish, a big cutthroat, as it made the slam possible. Fishing tail-waters are sometimes a bit trying because the goal of the dam is to make energy and thus they have to generate to do so. That means that the water levels fluctuate greatly during any 24-hour period. As we neared Norfork we knew there was some generation going on but hoped that the water would be dropping to an allowable level so that we could wade. It took Frank Terkhorn and me a few minutes to get our gear on and as I neared the stream I could tell that yes indeed…the water was on its way down. I stripped off about 50 foot of line and made a long cross-stream cast, then stripped quickly back towards me…my third cast was golden as a beauty of a fish…a 17 inch cutthroat swung in behind my fly and made quick work of it. A short battle ensued and there in my net was fish number 5 of my summer slam.

Fish #4 was for sure the easiest of the lot…rainbows are the most common and I have had many opportunities to catch a ‘bow’, even here in Indiana, but let me tell you about one special rainbow. It was the end of my summer trip to various states and we had wound up in Missouri, once again I was fishing at Bennett and doing quite well. As time draws near for me to leave I get a little melancholy knowing that it will be a while before I get back…in fact I was on my last few minutes of the afternoon of fishing, had even given myself my own “5-cast rule”…meaning I would make a total of five more cast and then pick up for the day. My second to last cast was down and across the pool; I had a crème colored trout candy on and I was stripping it quite briskly when I felt a big bang on the other end, tightened up on the line and knew immediately that I had hooked a better than usual fish and a few minutes later I slipped my net under a beauty of a hen ‘bow’ that went almost 22 inches.

Fish #3 was a big brown that I caught while fishing in northeast Iowa, in the Decorah, Iowa vicinity. Waterloo Creek was up and stained; I tied on a bright chartreuse and green streamer tied with lead eyes and hook up so that I could bounce it along the bottom. I made a cross stream cast and allowed the fly to sink before starting to slowly strip it back towards me. On my first cast I felt a bump and wasn’t sure…but on the second cast there wasn’t any doubt. I had hooked into a hefty brown and on my 3-weight in flowing water…it made for one memorable few minutes. When I slipped my net under this 21 inch toothy predator I am sure that I had a big grin on my mug…and should have!

Fish #2 was the most unexpected as I was walking French Creek, once again in northeast Iowa. French Creek was known for its brown trout and thus when I made a short cast and allowed my streamer to slither between a pair of rocks…I was quite pleased when I saw a big fish quickly move into the slot and pick up my fly…even more surprised when a few minutes later I had netted a chunky 16 inch brook trout. The fish was colored so majestically and the photo I took of this big beast perched on my hand is and always will be one of the more special fishing photos I have ever taken.

Fish #1 might just be the most special fish I have ever taken on a fly-rod as I was fishing at Pactola Dam, actually at the bottom of the dam. I had arrived very early, before daylight had even started to peak up over The Blackhills. I had tightly pumped up my float tube, grabbed my 6-weight rod and shoved off into the dim morning glow…what followed will always be a special moment for me. I had tied on a size 4 white streamer the night before and made a long cast to my left, into the deeper portion of the pool. I didn’t exactly know at what rate to strip so I started out with a slow cadence and on one of my first few casts I felt a tug…quickly strip set with my line hand and knew that at that moment I had hooked into a large fish. The fun was not knowing what was on the other end; in fact for a few minutes I didn’t do much but get the fish on the reel and try and keep it out of the many big boulders strewn around the interior of the basin. Right up to the end I thought I was engaged with a big brown…but as I finally tired the fish and it neared my tube I could see that I had hooked a large lake trout. The only thought I had at that point was, “Could I get my net under it and would the fish fit into the net”? I was patient (a trait I am not always blessed with) and waited until I knew the fish was worn down, raised my rod hand as high as possible and to my surprise…with a jiggle or two…the fish folded up within my landing net!

Truth is that I hope I get to repeat this summer’s trout slam many times again but we all know that things don’t always go as planned and as legendary basketball coach and Hoosier, John Wooden told his players, “Learn to enjoy life’s little victories along the way”. It was a summer (into fall) of great memories that I will for a long time celebrate and could only do so because I was healthy enough to Enjoy the Great Outdoors.