Sunday, August 15, 2010

#14's A Charm

Once upon a time I traveled,  with my brother, to New Brunswick, Canada each and every October to fish the Cains River.  Some years we saw good days, but mostly the season closed before the big run of fall Salmon were on the move in earnest.

One year though, the water was perfect and the fish were moving up river in massive quantity.  We traveled on the Cains River Road over the Miramichi and covered the five miles of dirt to where it meets the Cains.  Turn left on the logging road and you will find the magical pools between Coburn's down to Finn Brook.

This day we turned right and decided to fish The School House Pool that is right on the road.  Although the fish were very active we could not get a take.  They were moving through the pool and would not stop to even take a look.  I did notice that a short distance down river there was a constant show happening on river left.  We proceeded down and in a very small amount of time my brother landed the largest salmon of both our lives.  A nice female of about twenty pounds  At that moment I was in second place and it was not a comfortable position as a bit of a contorting smirk had developed on his face.

I waded out into the top of the bar and started to cast a #10 Copper Killer that produced an immediate boil to the fly.  Second cast, nothing.  Third, nothing.  Fourth, nothing.  For the next two hours I tied on twelve other flies and cast no more than four times with each.  The fish would  show to the first cast and then nothing.  On the fourteenth fly I went back to the first fly. I cast the tiny fly and the fish struck the tiny Copper Killer and tail danced backward for what seemed like minutes.  We measured from hook jaw to tail at 44" and let him go about 100 yards below the pool.

If you are going to be Salmon fishing during September and October make sure that you have a few Copper Killers in smaller sizes.  It just might be the trick that keeps a little brother from smiling too much.

William

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