dsharp
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2006
- Posts
- 47
Went for trout with the new trailer from Thursday till Monday night. Had a good time, plenty of fish, caught one dolly just under 24" and a FAT rainbow, he was under 24 but heavy!Like the Rosie O'Donnell of trout, but with more redeeming qualities. I used beads most of the time, a pale pink with some nail polish added seemed to work best. I also caught my first gull on a six weight. He put up quite a fuss, but we got him calmed down and unhooked easily(one more good reason to pinch your barbs down). Here's how it happened: I'm using a 6wt rod, 9.5 feet. Strike indicator on top of 11 feet of my own brand of leader, a little lead, and the aforementioned bead(6mm, if you care about such things) about an inch above a bare hook. So there I am, doing the high-sticking thing, when this gull lands right on my indicator. It was a pale white/ green, not bright like the standard stuff, so maybe he thinks it's a fish. I just let it drift, hoping not to tangle. He looks at me, and takes off with my leader wrapped around his leg. He didn't get far, and it sure was embarrasing for us both. So I drop the rod and grab my line, then just follow it up to him. Now I'm no bird expert, but when I was young I remember my Grandpa tucking chicken heads under their wing to put them to sleep. So I did it to him, then squeezed him between my chest and left arm while untangling him with my right. He seemed pretty calm considering what was going on. I set him down, seemingly none the worse wear and he hopped away and took off. I also realized something important: anybody who tells you about the purity of nature has never held a gull that has been dining on dead salmon all day to their chest and tried to untangle him. It was a great trip!
