Rachel and Jamie on the Caney Fork

The Predator

Rachel and Jamie started coming to fish on the Caney Fork two years ago. The first float yielded way too many trout to count, but no browns. We have fished together several times over the past couple years and each of those times the goal has been to catch a large brown....for Rachel.

The First Fish, Just to Prove We Were There

We Caught Several of These

We started the day on nymphs and caught some rainbows early. We saw the first paddle fish of the year. This beast was about four feet long and hanging above the Stocker Hole. The fish was swimming lazily between boats, kayaks and canoes. The paddle fish looked a bit beat up with scars and slashes, but otherwise it appeared healthy. We stayed on nymphs, then we began sight fishing with dries and droppers. We continued the early part of the float fishing on top and stopped for a while to fish for feeding-fish. Jamie focused on a nice section with some cruising fish, while Rachel cast to feeding fish among some structure.

The Predator on the Move

When the fish had seen several of the flies Rachel was throwing, I asked Jamie to throw his offering into the mix. Jamie's first cast delivered the fly into the small pool and a rainbow annihilated the fly. Slowly Jamie was becoming the bad guy....well not really, but... So, we moved on.

Rainbows and More Rainbows

We continued fishing on top water with some nymphs mixed in. Jamie and Rachel continued to pick up fish here and there, but no sizable browns. Then Jamie's indicator went under and the four weight took on a nice bend. The fish ran him in circles and generally saw most of the section of the river that we were trying to pull the fish from. Finally, we got the fish to the net and began to take photos. The photo below explains the celebration....well it explains Jamie's celebration, not necessarily Rachel's celebration.

Fifteen Yard Penalty! Taunting Another Angler, Still First Down

We continued down the Caney Fork River as Jamie and Rachel took turns catching a fish here and another fish there. The sun was up high all day, not a cloud in the sky, the scene could have been just like a host of a bad fishing show might describe a high pressure day. After a quick floating dinner, we entered the final leg of the evening. The sun was setting, there midges coming off the water and the fish were just starting their evening snack as well. We went back to nymphs after some evening top water action and Jamie picked up another brown under the indicator. It looked like Rachel might go home empty handed... But, there is one thing I hate to do and that is give up on big fish.

Jamie Scores His Second Brown of the Day

We had caught our share of rainbows, some smaller browns and a couple pretty good browns. It was getting late in the evening and the fish were starting lay down for the evening. The smaller fish were starting to lay down for the evening, the bigger fish, specifically the larger browns were just getting cranked up.

We continued a slow float toward the takeout. Rachel was still on the six weight throwing to rising fish and even caught a small brown. We put a lot of time into the preparation, the right water, at the right time, the right fly and the hot stick. The rod that has caught more large browns this year than the streamer rods. All we needed was the right fish to show itself.

The Sun Has Set and Fog Rolling Up the River

Just when everyone thought it was time to stow the rods and head for fast food snack, we decided to keep at it and load the boat in the dark if needed. The last cast was called shortly after that decision. I had one more place on the river in mind. So we started down toward a little pocket of fishy water that holds some really nice: browns.

We didn't make it to the water that holds those browns, because the right fish hit the surface within Rachel's casting distance and she turned on the fish. The bug hit the water, the fish turned on the bug. The fish ate and Rachel was setting the hook, just as the oar dipped in the water to slow the boat. The fight was on, but after such a trying day and trying so hard over the past few trips, she was convinced it was a small trout. Being there were low light conditions we couldn't confirm it right away. However, she was casting the six weight with a good backbone. The next thing we knew the fish was in the net and we all realized, Rachel had caught a large brown.....for Rachel.

The Brown

Caught & Released