GreggH
05-11-2012, 06:53 PM
Squeezing my way through the tule cut at Mildreds last night felt like any other. The incoming flow pushed the straining tules over like the wind on the levee across the way. My boat rocked hard right as she slid over a snag in the narrow break, picked up speed then gently dumped into the calm. I pushed the trolling motor over the side and began my slow walk down the soaked tree line. Cast after cast produced nothing even when I delivered the fly "right where she should have been".
All the beavers I come across on the delta see me before I see them. Then like some cruel joke they slap there tail on the water like a small plane crash and scare the crap out of me. My pole dancing beaver was different in a lot of ways. She didn't seem to mind my trespass, in fact she acted amused at my feeble stroke. She followed, sometimes led along the flooded tree's I worked, the sun digging deeper into the horizon. It was getting dark so I needed to start back to the cut soon. Just a couple more cast to the gnarly wood my big bass calls home. My last cast landed nicely between a tule patch and a downed tree. I waited, then stripped the fly to life with a big gulp and splash. The top water masterpiece shot left then right, left....right making a wake so delicious I wanted to pounce. I looked down onto the deck to clear a loop when all hell broke loose. My beaver friend grabbed my Pole Dancer and it sounded like a depth charge, water shot up 10 feet. Imagine snagging a alligator, marlin or Grants Gazelle on a Sage LMB rod. The fight was like no other. We went back and forth and I was shocked that I could actually handle her, sort of. All I could think of was how the hell was I going to deal with a beaver boat side. The battle lasted a minute or so and she finally came unzipped!! Thank you lord for my brief but glorious Pole Dancing beaver and some stripers to boot.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb236/greggh_fish/photo2-6.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb236/greggh_fish/photo3-5.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb236/greggh_fish/_89U9315.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb236/greggh_fish/_89U9343.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb236/greggh_fish/_89U9371.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb236/greggh_fish/_89U9333.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb236/greggh_fish/photo-86.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb236/greggh_fish/photo-85.jpg
All the beavers I come across on the delta see me before I see them. Then like some cruel joke they slap there tail on the water like a small plane crash and scare the crap out of me. My pole dancing beaver was different in a lot of ways. She didn't seem to mind my trespass, in fact she acted amused at my feeble stroke. She followed, sometimes led along the flooded tree's I worked, the sun digging deeper into the horizon. It was getting dark so I needed to start back to the cut soon. Just a couple more cast to the gnarly wood my big bass calls home. My last cast landed nicely between a tule patch and a downed tree. I waited, then stripped the fly to life with a big gulp and splash. The top water masterpiece shot left then right, left....right making a wake so delicious I wanted to pounce. I looked down onto the deck to clear a loop when all hell broke loose. My beaver friend grabbed my Pole Dancer and it sounded like a depth charge, water shot up 10 feet. Imagine snagging a alligator, marlin or Grants Gazelle on a Sage LMB rod. The fight was like no other. We went back and forth and I was shocked that I could actually handle her, sort of. All I could think of was how the hell was I going to deal with a beaver boat side. The battle lasted a minute or so and she finally came unzipped!! Thank you lord for my brief but glorious Pole Dancing beaver and some stripers to boot.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb236/greggh_fish/photo2-6.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb236/greggh_fish/photo3-5.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb236/greggh_fish/_89U9315.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb236/greggh_fish/_89U9343.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb236/greggh_fish/_89U9371.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb236/greggh_fish/_89U9333.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb236/greggh_fish/photo-86.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb236/greggh_fish/photo-85.jpg