Food chain

 

Driving to the reservoir we chatted about all sorts of things, but as usual, the main topic was fishing.

Phil, my mate, informed me he’d been reading a book about reservoir and lake fishing styles, and having thought about it long and hard he believed he had come up with a winning combination of flies for a three-fly cast:

“It’s all about having patterns that work together as a team, instead of as individuals” he said, “I reckon I have figured out the ultimate selection”. He wouldn’t elaborate any further and changed the subject.


In the boat he waited until after I had tied up my three-fly cast and then revealed his master plan: “On the point goes a big, black Woolly Bugger” explained Phil “then on the middle dropper is a pearly Cormorant and finally the top dropper is a tiny nymph”.

I stared blankly. “You just don’t get it, do you?” he said, “The big black fly represents a monster dragonfly nymph, which is chasing a small fry, which in turn is after the little nymph”. He rounded off by saying, smugly, “I’m going to call it the Food Chain!”.

I couldn’t help but laugh, but out on the reservoir towards the end of our very first drift, as Phil started to retrieve his flies towards the boat, lo and behold: the rod tip banged down towards the water’s surface, and he struck into a fish. “This is a real head banger!” exclaimed Phil “I think it’s a huge Brown!”

The battle was joined and turned into an epic struggle until he started to win back some line; we both craned over the side, hoping to see some ‘colour’ appear in the depths. Imagine my surprise when we spotted not one flash, but two, … then three! No double-up here, this was a treble, the full monty!

I had to buy the beers that evening, and won’t here the last of this for quite some time to come.



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