The Middle Provo saw its water temperature dip under 40F
(39.5F) for the first time this winter. A reputable website just reported that
water temperatures on the Middle Provo are 42 F. Unless my thermometer is
broken--brand new, I am a little miffed by their report. Water levels continue
to be optimal--consistent with previous reports, and quality fish can be found
in holding water and in the middle to latter half of runs. After thoroughly fishing
one of my favorite runs, I grabbed several submerged branches, in order to
inspect subsurface insect activity. The number of midges that can be found on a
single branch is truly remarkable. By running a branch across your hand, you
can observe the light bodied midges for yourself--maybe take a picture and
share, as I keep forgetting to. Light, cream-colored UFOs, as small as
you can tie on, will produce quality fish when presented in a dead-drift.
Fishing continues to be excellent and I managed to catch and
successfully land a 22 inch brown on a UFO. Given the river's temperatures, he
was not too difficult to bring in and I was able to release him before he knew
what hit him. I managed to take several photos and you'll see that this good
'ol boy has a badly damaged jaw--I assure you it's not from the UFO. Once home
and reviewing my notes and taking a closer look at some of the photos, and
again noticing his damaged jaw, I found myself reflecting on my approach to
fly-fishing during the summer, which has been partly documented in this blog.
Simply put, I am wondering whether the use of my 5wt rod has left many large
browns with significant injuries, or even worse. During the summer and its warmer
water temperatures, some of the browns pack enough gusto that it takes an
uncomfortable amount of time to land and release one--well over 15 minutes.
Even then, I have experienced about a 50%, or maybe even slightly less, landing
success rate, which often leaves me wondering how long would it have taken to
land the fish. Sure, it's exciting to feel the brute strength and witness a large
brown making rhinoceros-like charges up and down the river, but at some point, I
have found myself silently swearing in hopes that the fish would finally give in
and I'd be able to release it with enough left in its tank to recover.
I did a quick Google search to see if others were also questioning the ethics of using today's 5 wt rods when fishing for larger sized
trout, and I stumbled upon Tom Chandler's (Trout
Underground, 2012), "fly fishing keeps losing weight, and why that might be a bad thing" (click title to read the full article and
user comments). Chandler and his readers, who have been around the block for a
lot longer than me, comment on the industry trend that has downsized the
all-purpose fly-rod several line weights to a 5wt. Several of his readers
comment and share the same concerns that I have raised. In summary, I am seriously
considering purchasing a 6 wt, or possibly a 7 wt rod to add to my arsenal for
summer fishing. Again, it's well worth reading Chandler's article, along with his readers' comments.
Years back, it was generally considered that a 6wt was the all-rounder, though yes the 5wt seems to have been assigned the position lately. That said, I don't believe 5wt or lighter rods are responsible for the jaw injuries. Yes, too long of a fight ripping the connective tissue behind the jaw hinge is one cause, but not the only. A quarter of an hour on a fish seems inordinate to me, but then I don't know the variables of your particular situation. I do know you can pull incredibly hard with a 5wt provided your tippet is strong enough. It's about the string, not the rod. Here's a few causes of jaw injury that I often see:
ReplyDelete*Angler on fish too long for failure to get the fishes head by not applying enough drag pressure when the fish is running or not retrieving line quickly whenever the fish isn't running; or using a lighter tippet than necessary; dilly-dallying & overplaying in general.
* Large streamer hooks, especially if the fish is hooked in the thin membrane behind the jaw hinge.
* Use of a landing net. The fish rolls in the net spinning the leader around itself & often it slides up behind the jaw hinge, or, with double fly rigs, the empty fly hooks in the bag anchoring the leader, then the fish rolls & the line tightens, ripping the hook in the jaw hinge. If you must use a net, better to use one with a stiff rubber net bag with wide mesh for least tangling.
* Improper releasing without a net: the angler grips only the fly, or the fish slips out of hand while the angler is holding the fly, shakes its head or spins while the angler holds the hook, & rip...
* If you must use very light tippet, go to a longer rod, not a heavier wt rod. Longer rods are more forgiving of light tippets. A 10' 5wt will subdue trout much quicker than a 7' or 8' 5wt. From the looks of it in the fotos, a guy could pretty much take command of the Provo with a 10' 5wt.
Steve, I really appreciate your taking the time to write out this thoughtful response! Most of the fish that I've had on in the summer don't require a considerable amount of time to land. On occassion, I do run into very large browns, whitefish, and the occasional 'bow that will force me downstream and play longer than I'd like to. Given my use of tiny flies and to my knowledge, my never having injured a fish during the actual landing process (though I may have), I am probably more guilty of playing fish for too long than causing jaw damage. I think you might be on to something in your recommending a 10' rod. I am on the short side, the provo is pretty wide and very shallow at times, and I've probably lost more fish to my tippet fraying against rocks than probably anything else. I want to say that I am not gun-shy in using my 5 wt. to its full potential, but I may be, especially as my fly-fishing roots began on smaller mountain streams in Washington, where most of the trout I caught were modest in size. Again, thanks for taking the time to share some good information!
ReplyDeleteI only listed the causes of jaw injury that might be inflicted by flyfishers. For perspective, I should have noted that, in my own view, 9 out of 10, or an even greater percentage of jaw injuries on trout are caused by treble hooks, normally associated with gear fishing. Tiny flies, or even playing fish too long on tiny flies, seldom causes the type of jaw damage your foto exhibits. And I'd say the vast majority of injuries are caused when the angler removes the hook, especially if it's a treble hook. But hey, in any case it's fishing, after all. A little rough on the angler at the rod end of it, but always rougher for the fish on the hook end of it. And there are occasional casualties on both sides. Nature of the game.
ReplyDeleteI love old-fashion glass rods with slow, parabolic ('traditional') actions for fishing tiny flies. The right pace, & a much wider & nuanced load arc to tire fish & forgive tippets (& transferring great pleasure to the angler). And there's good reason the Celts prefer the long rod.