Can two skilled flyfisher catch fish in 27F water?

A lesson in temperature.

John and Brad - Before Picture

It seem like a good plan. Rather than 2 hours risking life and traffic jams on I-70, we'd drive 1 hour to Waterton Canyon and walk in an hour on a dirt road to fish the South Platte near Littleton rather than the Blue River near Silverthorne. Air temperature was predicted to go from 45F to 67F so we could leave the fleece in the car on the walk in. Flow was 120 cfs.

About a mile in some Rocky Mountain big horn sheep joined us. The shelf ice had disappeared but the water temperature was only 27F and there was no sign of trout activity or hatches.  We walked past the Marston Diversion where Denver Water sucks from the South Platte. Above the dam water temperature rose to 32F but still no sign of any fish. This area above the dam according to fishing reports held many more fish. Not for us. By 1:30PM we'd had it and started the trek out. Once below the dam the whole flock joined us, the air temp was now 67F and the water temperature a surprising 42F. 

We could now see fish all over the place. Other fly anglers were having a great time and soon both Brad and I had landed half a dozen on an egg pattern. 

We both knew not to expect anything at water temperatures below 42F but you have fish the water you're wading. We never expected the water temperature to rise 15 degrees in 4 hours as the air temperature rose 22 degrees, but of course we're happy it did. 

Fishing in Indian Waters

Fishing in Indian Waters

    Where are these Indian Waters? Not in Montana, Colorado, Utah, or New Mexico. Those are Native American Waters. These are in India of course. Why has it taken 522 years to correct Christopher's screw-up. If he'd be even marginally aware he'd have noticed that the natives he encountered did not have spices for sale, spice factories, advanced information technology degrees, silk saris, or curry. This just scratches the surface of the misunderstandings North Americanos have about India and Indians. As Fred Miller and I found out we don't know much about fishing there either.

     We were totally prepared. 

 We had Kingfisher Beer, Scotch, Bourbon, and local white wine. 

We had a luxury sleep in boat with air conditioning and a live in chef.

We had a captain that knew the local waters.

We had fine bamboo rods. Well maybe not that fine but it was what the Kerala's were fishing. 

We knew there were fish because the water snakes showed us a catch.

And the market displayed obviously recently caught fish. 

We had fine demonstrations of technique including landing but the size of the fish were not up to Fred's standards. We were unfamiliar with the  "ball of bread" fly but we tried some streamers, nymphs, midges, and dries. 

Nada.

Aah. They are using nets. Little ones and

big ones counter balance by a string of rocks.

So Fred tried getting the swing of fishing with a big net. Nada. 

Oh well. We came back enlightened on the culture but in the dark on catching.

"Fly" Fishing in China? - Catch and Release in the limestone Guangxi region.

Fly Fishing in China ?

These photos from Guilin and Lijiang are proof of trout, carp, koi, and pan fish.

     But in a country like China, Morocco, Tanzania or parts of Mexico the idea of fly fishing, especially catch and release fly fishing is as hard for the natives to imagine as it is for us when we try to imagine the fun of building the pyramids or erecting the moai on Easter Island. 

     Is there fly fishing in China? Is it possible to teach "catch and release" to this ancient culture? Could the introduction of a parachute adams destabilize the social structure of a river side fishing village? 

     FishB4UFly's intrepid fly fishing explorers tracked down the answers to these questions. Here for the first time they are REVEALED.

1. YES. There is Fly Fishing in China. And, just like the instructions on how to put together the "Made in China" patio umbrella you got at Walmart, the Chinese have put an original spin on "Fly" fishing. In fact, they didn't borrow fly fishing from Izaak Walton in 1653 as blue blooded fly fishers would undoubtably suggest. They'd been fly fishing for at least 700 years before Izaak tied on his first streamer.

2. NO. They already know. Catch and Release, in the Chinese way, has been  going on in China since the Tang dynasty.

3. NO. Even though China has all the best materials for fly rods, parachutes, dubbing, and fly lines, it is unlikely that a single subsistence angler will be interested in a technique so backward and unnecessarily complicated.

And here is the photographic proof taken on the Li River in October 2008.

Who put the "fly" in "fly fishing?"

First we must allow for an alternate Chinese specific use of the word "fly."  Rather than its archaic easily misinterpreted use as a description of a bug that is not actually a fly, we must revert back to its original and most common usage as a verb rather than a noun. As in, "Look at the big black cormorants those women are carrying on those long poles. I wonder why they don't just fly away."

Who put the "Fishing" in "Fly Fishing."

The first Neanderthal to catch a fish mimicked a grizzly swatting a migrating salmon out of the stream. The first Chinese "Fly" fisher saw a cormorant dive in, swim underwater, grab a fish, fly up on a branch, work the fish into a head down position, and swallow it. Instead of mimicking the cormorant the hungry crafty observer made friends with the Cormorant and taught him to bring back his fish to enjoy the meal together. He let the bird "fly" away, dive into the water, swim after schools of fish, "catch" a nice one, bring it back to his pole, and then he "released" it into his fishing basket. The ring around the cormorant's neck helped keep the bird focused while letting him swallow the smaller fish. 

The battery powered spot light replaced the traditional lantern when the Guilin K-Mart opened.

The cormorant is trained to come back to the fisherman's pole.

 It's not exactly our definition of fly fishing but don't try to tell that to a Chinese cormorant.