The Girl and her Fish

      The day finally came when my girlfriend Caitlin and I actually had the same weekend off of work; and we were going fishing hell or high water. Of course I should say rain or high water because we had both. When people think of California they don't think of rain well into June or the fact that we will have rushing rivers for, most likely, the remainder of this year. So on a cold and rainy June day; we went fishing.
       When I woke in the morning to a constant downpour I was surprised that she still wanted to go out.  Caitlin was very antsy because she had just received a brand new hand crafted fly rod for her birthday.  I won't say who she got it from but if you'd guessed a very handsome fellow with the initials JR, you might be right. Armed with her fly rod, reel and Gortex from head to toe we headed out to see what this day would bring.
       On years when the water is high and my favorite rivers are unfishable we are lucky enough to have a few afterbays that hold decent fish in our area.  The afterbays are created when a dam is constructed just downstream from the main dam of a lake. This area usually holds the same water level year round and fluctuates only in speed of the current. We arrived to find the rain was not being picky on where it fell this day. It decided to just fall everywhere.

      We spent the first few hours fishing in some prime looking water. I decided that an indicator would be best for the rookie. After only a few tangles the casts were looking better and we started to make some different drifts. Nothing biting. I made a couple casts with a bugger and was surprised with 2 fish hooked up but they decided not to enter the boat. Must have been too wet out for them. After this, the light bulb in my head made an appearance. I knew she would not be able to cast this big 'ol bugger very far so I decided to take the girl trolling. Now most of you might think that it's not a big deal to switch rods to the one set up for a certain application, but I can assure you that some people don't see it that way. After some resistance and questions about why she couldn't just use her rod, I finally convinced her to hold on to my rod while I rowed the boat upstream.
     Not 5 minutes into my row upstream and "BAM," Fish On!  I was excited for Caitlin. This would be her first fish she has ever caught. I'm starting to feel real proud of myself when she says, "here, you reel it in." She was so bummed out that she didn't hook the fish on her rod that she didn't even want to reel in the beautiful rainbow. I was quite shocked to say the least but I refused her pleading. She handled the fish like an old pro and I netted it. Couple pictures and quickly back in the water. I could see now that she is excited and convinced that I'm just doing what's best to catch fish. I did not let her down when on a drift downstream she landed a fish with her new rod.
Although the rain did not stop for more than than 5 minutes all day, it turned out to be quite successful.  I am proud of the progress Caitlin made and for being a real trooper.  I know many people who would have never gone out in that rain.

Caitlin and her first fish(caught on my rod)

Caitlin and her second first fish (caught on her rod)

Very handsome

Even more handsome

Throwing meat!

The happy fishermen