Manic Staff Season Highlights - Chris Dore, Manic Ambassador & Technical Guru
Favourite days on the river are not usually about the fish for me, it’s about who you share them with, the memories and banter. However when you throw in a few challenges and a handful of superb, wild brown trout, it all combines for a very satisfying memory. Earlier this season I had one such day. With some of the heaviest winds we have fished in of recent, Simon Chu, Tim Angeli and I descended on a favourite stream.
While there were many memorable events that day (“Where is he in relation to that Boulder? “ *Boulder moves “oh, never mind“), for me the highlight of the day was after a rather tough spell with the winds at their strongest and the fish at their spookiest.
Tim found a fish feeding deep in a swirly pool. A very tough drift even without the gale force westerlies. His first few passes were ignored and so he switched patterns, presumably to something more likely to get down. First pass and Shazam!!! He’s in to a day maker.
Tim’s plan was to switch to a lighter nymph to better move around the different currents. The fish lifted, and ate it confidently. No faulting that logic! A pretty aerial fight ensued giving us a number of cracking photo opportunities, and with ‘Sure Shot Chu’ on the net, the result was swift, and a given. Tim’s elation in the final pic says it all!
Fly fishing is always that much better when sharing it with great mates.
