Double Double

Have you heard of a double double, and I’m not talking about basketball.

After last weeks good fishing I was eager to get back to the Metolius. I headed over Sunday morning with my fishing partner Jeremy.

We arrived at the river around 10:00 and suited up for the day ahead. We met up with Shandy and Candice and headed downriver. A ways down river we split into pairs to cover more ground.

A lot of the snow had melted since last week so getting around would be a lot easier. The day started off a similar to last week. We spotted Bull trout, fished to them, caught white fish, hiked a bunch, and nothing. Just like last week we stopped at Nick’s favorite spot for our final destination and our luck turned around.

This was Jeremy’s first time out to the Metolius, not just to the Metolius but to this whole area. I know he was excited. He was like a kid in a candy store. Every sight was new to him. Every step was a first, and every run was a new fishing exploration. He had heard the stories about how challenging the fishing was and came prepared for a spanking.

Jeremy started high in the run and I went down. I rigged up the same two fly setup as last week, a size 14 mic drop and a size 18 peacock flash Perdigon. This has proven to be a deadly combo that sinks fast and catches fish.

Jeremy caught the first fish. Undoubtedly, they could hear his excitement back in Camp Sherman. He caught a couple of more before I hooked my first one. Just like last week no fish was safe. It didn’t matter if it was a trout or whitefish. They were all being picked on.

I was getting down to the end of the run and hooked a whitefish. I was about to land it when I thought I saw a big dark shape make a swipe at it. It was shady where I was fishing so I couldn’t tell for sure. I let the whitefish swim around for a second and then it happened. A Bull trout swam out from under my leg and swiped at the whitefish. It slashed and missed, came back and nailed it. This was one of the coolest things ever, and it was taking place within 10’ of me! The Bull trout locked on to the back of its neck and wasn’t letting go. Suddenly, I realized I might be able to land both fish. I led them closer, grabbed my net with my left hand and swooped them both up. If Jeremy had been excited before, I was 100 times more excited. This was a once in a lifetime event! I was done. There was no reason for me to fish any longer.

We headed back to the truck. I was still in awe. I told Jeremy we could drive down river and check out a little more water. We got down river and I parked the truck. Actually, I had no intention of fishing so I didn’t even turn off the ignition. We hopped out of the truck and there must have been 20 trout rising. Jeremy asked if he could fish to them. I was skeptical, the back cast was tight, these fish get a lot of pressure, blah, blah, blah. He ran up to the truck and grabbed my rod still rigged with my double nymph setup. He made his first cast and let the two flies swirl out into the current. The flies hit the far seam and boom! Fish on! Yeah, in my face. Honestly, I was a little amazed that he got one. We landed it and snapped a couple more picture.

He made another cast, and the flies swirled again to the outside seam. He lifted and set the hook. Fish on again! Immediately, he said, “Something feels weird. I think I’ve got two fish.” I couldn’t tell shrugging my shoulders. As he got them in close the one I could see jumped. It was mysteriously slammed back down to the water. At that moment I knew he had two fish on. Another double! What was going on?! We landed the two fish, snapped a few pictures and called it a day.

We headed back to meet the girls and see how they did. I was doubtful their day could even compare. This wasn’t the most amount of fish I’d caught on the Metolius, as a matter of fact the week before was better. But this was the best day of fishing I’d ever had! Did I mention the double double?!