Tom and Paul

Tom wanted to take his Father-In-Law Paul fishing. So. when Paul's birthday rolled around, Tom booked the trip. Things started off well when they showed up 10 minutes early. We loaded up and went to the river. The plan was for Tom to fly fish and Paul to take the rear of the boat and enjoy a day of fishing gear. The river was clear and low. The flow is extremely slow, which made nymphing without drag, even more critical. Tom is an experienced small stream angler and was ready to take those skills and adapt them to the tailwaters. Paul brought his own bag of spinners and deeper running lures. The weather was partly cloud and low 70's for the high. The water temps began and ended the day below 50 degrees.

What's the Real Problem Here and Why Is Tom So Happy?

Everything was in place or so we thought. I took the guys straight to a good stretch of water. A stretch that has produced nice fish almost every trip and has never let me down by producing at least something worth noting. This time however,  we had some hits and follows, flashes and losses. When the indicator would dive, Tom would set the hook, sometimes play the fish for a short time and then, the fish would throw the fly. This went on in the front of the boat, while in the rear Paul would produce a fish or two on gear, but things were just not clicking. Tom appeared to be doing everything right and so did Paul. I made the decision to stop the float and re-fish that good stretch of river... The guys were looking to me for answers, I couldn't figure it out. About that time the answer appeared!

The Real Problem? Bananas On A Boat!

The boat was now back at the upper end of the stretch that we had just fished. As we waited for a group of recreational boaters to pass through, we all grabbed a snack and that is when it became apparent there was a banana on the boat. Not only was there one banana on the drifter, but there were three bananas. The story behind bananas on watercraft is almost as old as watercraft themselves. I explained to Paul and Tom that bananas were not just bad luck but were also why we were not bringing fish to the net. When the first banana was finished I took the peel and disposed of it! The guys were not convinced I was being truthful, but the more I talked, the easier it was for them to understand I was not happy. They fished a bit longer,but the banana theory began to get into Tom's head He finally couldn't stand my griping any longer couldn't stand the thought that I might be right. So, he took the other bananas and disposed of them as well... Tom set up for his first "nanner free cast"...

Finally!

...the fly landed and the indicator turned over, then settled into a slow drift. The indicator dove, Tom set the hooked and the fish flashed. The fish made several runs and a few jumps, but Tom got the head up and brought his catch to the net. The guys had a good laugh and there was relief from the rowers bench. While I revived the fish the guys discussed out loud that there could be some truth to the "banana theory". We revisited the recent catch, but I am not sure they were convinced.  So, Tom stepped back into the casting brace, stripped off some line and cast again. The fly landed and the indicator turned over. Then it floated a short distance and dove again. That cast produced another fish in the boat and while this was happening in the front, Paul was hooked up in the back casting brace. This time the guys produced a double. There would be no more bananas on any fishing trip with these guys.

Paul Joined In With Spinning Gear

The guys continued to fish throughout the day and at times it was a bit slow. Just when it seemed like the front, that was moving through the area, was going to completely put the fish down, one of them would bring a fish to the net. The morning turned to afternoon. Afternoon was getting late when Paul hooked a fish that fought differently. When he got the fish to the top we found a crappie on the line. Paul had the slam. The slam for this trip was a brown, rainbow and crappie!

Tom Hooked Up

A Good Day On The River

Fishtails.....

The tree lines began to make some long shadows on the river as the sun began to fall. We were well into the float and the takeout was about an hour away. Paul was bombing the bank with a shallow running rooster tail and he picked out another species. This time a rock bass came to the net and I guess Paul completed his super slam. Overall the fishing was good and the catching was good. Paul and Tom were enjoyable to fish with and they were open to suggestions that hopefully made their day and future fishing better. If none of us learned anything else, we did learn the "banana theory" was no theory at all.

Tom With A Rarity