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Brazos River Below Possum Kingdom Lake Trout Fly....
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By:
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BlueCatfish
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Mood:
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Other
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Date:
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Apr 13, 2009
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Music:
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None
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I had been nagging Rob for weeks to come fly fishing with me. "Come on Rob- It will be fun!" I'd exclaim. I'd always get the same response.
"I can't. I have to study." Rob was pre-Med, and seemingly studied all the time. I often took upon myself the arduous task of making sure that he didn't somehow become permanently attached to his Biology textbook, so I kept bugging. I also had an ulterior motive in that I had just gotten my fly rod for Christmas about a month before, and was new to the sport. I knew that Rob was a very experienced fly fisherman, who could help me catch those picky trout that I had failed to catch earlier.
One Tuesday we had both finished our classes early. I pulled out my usual hardcore persuasion tactics: "Come on, lets go. You need a break" and "It will be a sweet adventure. Come on."
Rob looked at the floor in deep thought. I was optimistic because the slight hesitation was the most positive response I had gotten out of him in several weeks. He then looked up and said, "I guess I could use a little adventure."
We grabbed our gear and drove out to the Brazos river below Possum Kingdom, about an hour and a half away from our school in Fort Worth, Texas. We parked and worked our way downstream, not having much success.
It was already late in the afternoon and rather cold when we crossed over to a large grassy island. We both immediately noticed numerous trout rising on the southern run. He landed a nice rainbow. Rob handed me a small elk hair caddis. I cast it in the shade of an overhanging bush and then, WHAM- a trout smacked my fly. I rose my rod tip too enthusiastically and jerked the fish completely out of the water. I reeled the fish in yelling, "I got one! I got one!" Rob gave me a look like he was embarrassed to be associated with me (I get that look a lot from him) but I couldn't help myself; I was so excited about my first little trout. I admired the beautiful fish in my hands, and then let it swim away, ready to catch more.
Before casting again, I looked behind me and noticed my backpack floating in the water, about to drift downstream. I moved it to a slightly higher spot on the island and resumed fishing. Without my noticing, the water level kept rising and the current kept getting faster. Rob did notice and pointed out that we should probably get going as it was also getting dark. I really wanted to fish a little longer, but I looked behind, and again saw my backpack floating. The island had almost disappeared, except for isolated patches of large bunch grass.
"Alright, maybe you're right. Let's get out of here" I said. I soon realized that was much easier said than done. We had both been toughing it out wet wading, and the water was quite cold and the temperature was dropping. The area we had crossed earlier was now impossible to cross, so we headed towards the opposite shore. We managed to fight through the current from one small remaining clump of land to another, until we were almost to the shore. Just one small five wide foot run remained.
The run looked pretty deep. I inched my way forward cautiously. I then slipped in and the current started to carry me away. I grabbed frantically for the opposite bank and managed to pull myself out, clutching onto the large clumps of grass and bushes. At least now I was across, but I was absolutely freezing.
Rob worked his way further upstream and found a better place to cross. We bushwhacked our way through the darkness, numb and shivering, for about a half mile to the car. The one thing we were looking forward to more than anything else was blasting ourselves with heat in my car. I apologized for all the trouble I had gotten us into. He said it was fine, kidding, "As long as you didn't lose your keys."
I reached into my pockets casually and felt nothing. "It's funny you say that Rob." I frantically checked all my pockets in my jeans and fishing vest. Nothing. He thought I was playing a joke on him.
"I swear to God I'm not kidding. I lost the keys" I told him gravely. We checked around the car but found nothing. I told him to call my roommate Justin to come pick us up.
He barely got any service, and Justin didn't answer. "Try James" I told him. James answered and I told him how I needed him to get my spare car key out of my dorm desk and drive an hour and a half in the middle of the night to a place he'd never been remotely close to.
"Okay" he casually agreed. Good old reliable James. Rob's phone was now dead, and we had no way of reaching James. If he couldn't find us we were doomed.
We waited, cold, wet and tired, for what seemed like an eternity. We began to lose faith that James would ever come. Just as we were getting really discouraged, we saw a large Tahoe approach from the distance.
The driver side door popped open. "James!" I exclaimed. Then the passenger door opened and Justin stepped out. "Justin! What are you doing here!"
Justin casually stated, "Are you kidding me? You place your fate in the hands of this guy" pointing jokingly at James, who let out a pillsbury doughboy chuckle. James had gotten a hold of Justin, and Justin had insisted on coming down, despite the fact that he had a test the very next day. Both Rob and I felt fortunate we had such great friends.
On the car ride back I casually told Rob, "I guess you got your adventure."
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