![\"Willie,](\"https:\/\/bamboopursuits.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/P1010006-580x435.jpg\")
<\/a>Willie, the Rainbow Trout<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you fly fish a particular water enough times, you\u00a0usually get to know the specific spots where fish hold.\u00a0 And, you might even get to know a specific fish.\u00a0 He’s always at the same spot, and can\u00a0often be tempted with the same flies.\u00a0 You might even give that specific fish a name, often out of respect for the encounters you’ve had with it.\u00a0 Such is the story of Willie.<\/p>\n
I first met Willie in early July of last year at one of my favorite spring creeks.\u00a0 I was fishing under a bridge where I’ve often found a number of decent cutthroats in the 12″ to 15″ range. I never pass up the opportunity to fish under bridges.\u00a0 It’s where you often find some of the largest fish in the stream.\u00a0 They seem to be attracted to the shade and deeper pockets along the bridge supports.\u00a0 \u00a0On this particular day, I was throwing\u00a0an assortment of\u00a0dry flies in vain, as no fish were coming up for the numerous bugs that were flying around.\u00a0 As I had turned to\u00a0move on to another spot, I heard an enormous bowling ball sized explosion in the water from behind me.\u00a0 I looked back, just in time to see\u00a0another huge swirl as a large nose of a trout emerged from the water taking something on the surface.\u00a0 It’s here that I came to know Willie’s trademark….huge explosive attacks at flies on the surface.\u00a0 I tied on a #18 ant pattern and gently cast it under the bridge shadows.\u00a0 Instantly, Willie engorged my fly and put up a great fight\u00a0on 6X tippet and my 7′\u00a0 6″\u00a0 5 wt.\u00a0bamboo fly rod.\u00a0 When I got him to the net,\u00a0the big rainbow\u00a0measured out at 19″, dwarfing the smaller cutthroats in the stream.<\/p>\n
I encountered Willie several other times during the summer last year.\u00a0 He was always in the same location under the bridge, occasionally showing himself with aggressive surface takes, and sometimes venturing out in the sunlit stream.\u00a0 I hooked him two other times last summer but he came out the victor, breaking me off both times.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, I hit this spot on the stream again for the first time this season.\u00a0 Decent midge, mayfly, and caddis hatches were happening but no fish were coming to the surface.\u00a0The nymphs that I cast only yielded whitefish, and at 1:00 I took a break for lunch.\u00a0 Half way through my sandwich, I heard the distinct aggressive surface take from Willie.\u00a0 Two more surface rises, and I was back into the stream in pursuit.\u00a0 I tried to imitate the various surface bugs but got no response.\u00a0 I then tied on my favorite #18 ant pattern, and got a rapid take on my first cast.\u00a0 I was again in battle with Willie, which I won about 5 minutes later.\u00a0 I gently released Willie after snapping a couple of photos, knowing that I’ll be back to do battle with him later this summer.\u00a0\u00a0 I hope you have your own\u00a0trophy trout\u00a0that continues to challenge you in your fly fishing adventures.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Willie, the Rainbow Trout<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you fly fish a particular water enough times, you\u00a0usually get to know the specific spots where fish hold.\u00a0 And, you might even get to know a specific fish.\u00a0 He’s always at the same spot, and can\u00a0often be tempted with … Continue reading