Bruised Ego

After landing a good sized Temensis on the last visit to this spot, i was a bit confident of the fishes here. It seems i was wrong. I was made to go home with the egg on my face this time. I won't ever use 16lbs leader and anything lighter than my Bassterra again. That place is just fool of surprises.

I went in early as usual with the water vapor slowly edging out of the woods onto the water. This was the sweet awakening smell that anglers thrive in. I already saw a bro casting in the distance... I smiled at him as i passed him and bashed into the woods. He must be thinking this guy is nuts... 0630hrs bashing in the dark without a torch...

I stopped over at the side to walk a few dogs but there were zero takers. The sunlight had yet to reach this part of the river system and the fish were dead quiet. After quite a few spider webs landing smack in the middle of my face, i eventually reached THE HOLE. It was this little hole in which me and Momok had our PB fun. It was easier fishing here when the water level was down but hey... there are still fish around...

Today's mission was to test my NFFs(No Frills Flys). These flies were tied simply with thread onto hooks with mono line. Each fly could be done in a matter of seconds... So they were very expendable... but were they effective?

I got a hookup on my first cast... A Temensis fry that came to visit. It was on an NFF Fly. Then, tradition came knocking and i gifted my first NFF to the treetops...

I casted over logs and over trees to the sweet hole but it seems that the usual sized Peacock weren't around! There was this fish chasing a fly around. From my left to my right and all over... Guess what came to attack my fly once i presented it... A toman fry on fly... Buahaha...

I was getting agitated as the usual PBs weren't around. I was thinking maybe the water is a little muddy and flies weren't just noticeable enough so i clipped on a Nils Master orange minnow. I loved this lure the action is darting all over when you fast twitch but on slow retrieve it still retains the sexy ass motion.

I was lost in my casting and thinking over recent big changes in my life when i saw this HUGE !@$!%^# Black Toman SWIM TOWARDS my lure and... NO boom... no bang... not even a splash. It just grabbed the lure like a greedy burglar and dashed off.. Everything happened right in front of me as the water was clear and my lure was running mid water... I was in deep trouble as the take was so near the sunken logs and bogs. This could be a record breaker for me as i was thinking. I was thinking maybe over 10 kilos... lol no joke...

The fish swam off very fast and i could even see my lure was right inside its mouth... 16lbs leader... pray hard... I gave it 3 sets but it was already taking out line when i was trying to set hook. The sharp owner trebles will do its job... Hehe... But the problem was after setting... the fish just kept swimming!!!

I tried all sorts of pattern... Doing the Japanese style, and setting the hook many more times to turn the fish away from the obstacles but it wasn't even slowing. I was already thumbing the spool and the rod was loaded to the max. My mainline was probably near it's breaking strain but i still could not turn the fish... I could sense the dreaded feeling as the fish entered the sunken log and debris area... It was still taking out line even when inside all the weeds and rubbish... lol...

"PIAK"...

The difference between losing a record big fish and a normal good sized fish is very simple. When you lose a normal good sized fish you will curse and swear... Expletives will come out and you will be very hardworking... Rigging up quickly and casting again and again...

But when losing a record fish... I just sat there for 10 minutes... took out a bottle of water and stared blankly at the water... Hahahaha...

Thus the curse of the 10 second fight came back to haunt me.... And my best Toman record still stands to be broken...

After awhile, i re tied my leader and continued luring... I changed tactics and instead of a normal fly... I took out a fly which i specially tied for more visibility... A longish fly... Long threads being used instead of usual lengths...

I was skeptical at first but after just 10 minutes, i had a take... This fish was fast and took out line. I thought it was another big Temensis at first but the fight didn't last long... However, small Temensis do seem to fight better than bigger ones... I caught a flash of the Temensis school just as the the fish struck... It seems they have grown bigger alright!

Special long version of the NFF fly. The fly is longer than the shank of the hook by 2 times.

Released the nice fish and continued on but could not find the school anymore... I called it a day when i lost all my splitshots to snags... It could be a long time until another record breaker comes to visit me... Will i learn my lesson by then?

Might be focusing on that area again this weekend... maybe a full scale mission to bash deeper to the very heart of paradise...