Streamer Fishing: A Team Sport
With everything that has gone on recently with the virus, shelter in place orders, social distancing etc etc; I felt like it was a good time to show some gratitude to my friends and the shared experiences this troubling year has offered us so far. I am very fortunate that I get to work with friends and as a result I have still seen them with some regularity. We all work for the same fly shop and guide service, Boone’s Fly Shop and High Country Guide Service. As such, we spend a lot of time together hanging out, fishing for fun, working with clients on the water, and anything and everything between. They are my fly family and I wouldn't have it any other way.
One thing that is shared among my friends is a love of streamer fishing and exploring new water in search of large brown trout. I was reminiscing about some of the trips and moments shared on the water this year and realized that all of my best memories this year were spent with my friends streamer fishing. As I thought more and more about it I realized that my friends and I have turned streamer fishing into a team sport.
Catching large wild brown trout with any sort of consistency year round in various water types is no small feat. The team nature of our fishing was born out of friendship and efficiency. Simply put, we catch more big fish when we are together than when we are apart and that is how we have accomplished the consistency in which we find these fish . Sure, some of it is just a numbers game. More lines in the water means more water covered, more water covered means a greater chance of landing one of these fish. With us it's more than that. Every member of our crew brings shared skills as well as some unique skills to the table that make us stronger as a unit. The people below are all some of my best friends and if I am fishing, chances are it's with them. Here are some of the crew, what they uniquely bring to the table, and some of my favorite moments with them this year.
First up is the guy I fish with most often, CJ. Most of the time that CJ and I spend together is on creeks looking for large browns. We met a couple years ago and it became apparent very quickly that we had similar interests and methodologies when it comes to creek fishing for large browns. The number of 12 hours days we have put on the water together looking for that one fish are too many to count. It is rough, physically demanding fishing that not everyone is up for or capable of. CJ is the most tenacious angler I know. He routinely wakes up and 3am to drive up to the high country to fish all day, only to turn around and make the several hour drive back home on the same day. When we aren't on the water together we stay in touch constantly talking about new prospective spots to try, new methods, and new streamer patterns.
One day this year sticks out in particular. It was a day where I was floating with Skye and CJ in some new water that we had been planning to explore for over a year. We made a game plan and executed it to perfection. The whole day was full of the excitement of new water and the unknown possibility that lay ahead. I was lucky enough to land the first brown of the day which was a proof of concept of sorts for what we were doing. Later in the day CJ yells out “big fish, big fish” and he was not lying. CJ hooked a large male brown trout way down in the depth of a run. Everyone went to work, CJ fighting the fish, Skye positioning the boat in the best spot to help CJ gain leverage on the fish, and me waiting with the net. CJ got the fish to the surface and with two hard backstrokes with the oars Skye had brought the fish within netting distance. I couldn't reach the fish with the net and quickly gave it to Skye who sank the net around the nearly two foot brown trout. Everyone yelled in victory and we eddied out to the side to grab a photo. Everything about this day was special and it was capped off with seeing one of my best friends catch a truly remarkable fish.
Skye is one of the fishiest anglers I know period. He and his brother Collin have grown up here in Boone and cut their teeth on every water type and discipline this sport has to offer. I have fished with Skye more this year than I ever have before and we always have a good time. Skye brings a lot to the table but I got to witness Skye truly in his element on the same day mentioned above in CJ’s story. Skye loves to row the boat and he is a total badass behind the oars. That day we were dropping into water none of us had seen before. New obstacles, new rapids, and a lot of unknowns were before us as we dropped in that day. Skye had a massive cheeseball smile on his face all day long as he rowed and maneuvered through new rapids all the while positioning us to have the best casts at structures that might hold fish. I knew that there was no way Skye was letting go of the oars that day. He was in adventure mode and channeling his inner Emerald Mile. CJ kept pulling me aside and expressed his concerns that Skye was rowing too much and we needed to switch off. I tried to explain that this is who Skye is and just replied with “good luck getting to give up the rowers seat”. Skye didn’t relinquish the oars all day and he wouldn't have had it any other way. He got us through every rapid safely and put us both on large browns. What a day and a sentiment that I got to return in kind very recently. I’ll save that story for you down below.
Lyss and I have been working the shop together during the off season months and we have been chasing big browns on and foot and in the boat. Every time we fish together we cut up and laugh through the day. Lyss is like a sister to me and watching her grow as an angler and as a person has been a pleasure. Lyss is always setting goals and taking steps to achieve those goals. Lyss is all about progression. Progression as an angler, as a guide, and as an ambassador for our sport. It is that drive to progress and planning that leads to moments like this, the moment where Lyss stuck a huge brown. Lyss was floating with Collin and Skye and casted ahead of the boating into a soft sport swirl that was just next to the main current. The streamer got closer and closer to the boat when it got inhaled just off of the oars. The brown immediately dove to the bottom and dug in. Collin backrowed as hard as he could as to not have the boat get washed down below the fish. Skye readied the net. Lyss went to work and put the wood to this fish in order to get it back to the surface. Cheers went up as the fish hit the net. All of Lyss’ progression, goal setting, and time putting in work on the vise and the water paid dividends in this moment.
As I mentioned above, Collin was born and raised here in the high country. We first bonded over our love of creek fishing. We have come a long way from those early days exploring our local water both as anglers and as friends. Aside from his vast knowledge of our local waters Collin brings many unique things to our streamer team. Collin is always down for anything. Whether it be streamer fishing new water, using new techniques, taking photos, going foraging, or cooking up some food for everyone to share. Collin has an easy going nature that is infectious and makes you slow down and appreciate the present moment.
The three of us were floating together on an overcast day. It felt fishy outside. Every cast out built up the anticipation of the first flash of the day. I was on the oars as we headed towards a rapid. As we were exiting the tailout of the run that set atop the rapid, Skye’s streamer gets jacked by a huge brown. This fish dug down again and again. Skye is in the back seat of the boat fighting the fish as it pulls out ahead of the boat. Without missing a beat Collin reels up, stashes the rod and grabs the net just as we crest the rapid. About halfway through the rapid I see Collin lurch over the front end of the boat. He lifts the net full of an old river warrior and yells out in success. Later that same day Collin was fishing a slow moving tailout when he got bumped. Collin sets the hook, the rod tip bounces lightly a couple times. Collin puts more pressure on this presumably small fish and then the rod doubles over as we realize he has hooked a large brown. Gold flashed from the deep as the fish went on a couple impressive runs, but it was no match for the pressure Collin was putting on it. Skye netted the fish and a weight lifted off Collin’s shoulders as he realized that he had bested the fish. This fish was a long time coming for Collin and it was awesome to watch the two brothers both succeed in the same float and in spectacular fashion.
Next up in Kole, king of the sculpzilla. I met through instagram and after fishing once together we hit it off. I have explored more blue lines with Kole than I have with anyone else. Whether it's searching for the mythical 15in native brookie or looking for a 20in brown in our favorite local creeks, Kole is always looking for big fish in the most unexpected places. That mentality drives a lot of new discoveries for the group and keeps things fresh.
Kole’s story takes place over back to back days. It was early in January and it was my first trip out fishing for the year. The water was very high and discolored which made wading very difficult to say the least. We had moved a couple fish but not connected with any. As we approached mid-day Kole steps up to a promising looking run. I jokingly told him to go catch a big one out of the run and that's exactly what he did. At the start of the day we had agreed that no one would put themselves in a dangerous spot if someone did hook a big fish. I must have forgotten because as soon as Kole set on the brown it took off downstream into some fast high water that was headed right for some log jams. I missed the net job on the first attempt, the current spun me around a bit as the fish surfaced again and I got it done on the second attempt. I love seeing my friends catch big fish and this one was the biggest we had caught together. The next day we set out again on another streamer mission. This time I was the first to get lit up by a big fish. Kole was in the hole right after the fish and ended the fight quickly. The rest of the day was slow going. We had decided to head back to the car and move to a different spot. Here begins the abbreviated legend of Johnny Bourbon, I am writing the full story on John right now. An older gentleman pulled up next to us in his truck and said that he would trade us bourbon for fish stories, which was a deal we could not refuse. We enter John’s garage and meet his best friend Steve. John and Steve explained that they had grown up together fishing but couldn't get out and wade like they used to. John had about every type of bourbon you could want and he insisted that you pour your own glass. We traded fish stories for about an hour before we ventured off to other topics like politics, religion, women, life, and pretty much a little of everything. We laughed over and over again, we didn’t agree on everything but everything was amicable and it was a breath of fresh air in our polarized world. Two and a half hours later and two bottles of bourbon later we left John’s home with our spirits lifted and a meandering spring in our step. Needless to say we couldn't drive anywhere so we ended up fishing some water we had skipped over earlier in the day. The bourbon chose a triple dungeon as my fly and on my first cast with it an 18in brown took exception to it and nailed it. Kole and I couldn't believe it and we just sat there laughing at the absurdity of the day we were having. Johnny Bourbon showed up again in style on another occasion when I was fishing with Collin and Skye, but I will save that for his full write up.
Each of my friends adds something unique to our streamer fishing team. The tangibles and intangibles that my friends offer is the reason I don’t really enjoy fishing alone anymore. We fish better together, we succeed more often together, and we have a better time together. Every time we fish together we learn things from each other and that pushes each of us to be better anglers. Surround yourself with passionate people that make you feel alive. I am proud to say that is exactly what my friends do for me. I am not sure what I bring to the table that is unique but maybe it is the ability to bring all these different people together. You can’t fake the vibes in our group. We grind and work at what we do and when one of us succeeds, we all do. It's never about who catches the big fish, but simply that the team gets one in the net. That's precisely what streamer fishing is to us, a team effort. Everyone brings something to the table that helps the others succeed and get better. I love my friends and my streamer team. This year may be on unstable ground with everything that is going on in the world but I know that I am grounded in the firm foundation that is my fly family. Share the stoke and fish with people that push you to get better while having fun doing so.