毎日 入れ替わりガイドでいろんな人 いろんな気持ち いろんなパターンでゲストを案内しますが、この二日間はサングラスをかけたキャップからシルバーヘアーがチラッと見えるカッコいいおじさま2人。1人は鬼怒川のライズを一日中待てるような 本番大好きな超エキスパート級なFJ氏。 もう1人は そこまで上手ではないけど投げれるというSさん。
雨続きで濁りから逃げるように入った 1日目のプール
流れ込みで小さな波紋を立てるライズをすぐに理解したFJ氏は早速リールから糸を出している。ようやく準備が終わったSさんをライズも全くないプールの開きに入る。ライズもないし、とりあえずでっかいフライを水面に置いておくと3投でデカいドライが凄まじい水飛沫でデッカいニジマスが出た あまりにも突然で 突っ走りを2度耐えるものの 倒木に向かうその勢いに力んでしまい プツ。 6月に釣った60センチだったかも。
午後に入ったプールは 小さなライズをあっさりFJ氏が釣ったので 次に見つけたライズをSさんの打順
これがまた食わない
フライが入らない
それでも３０分くらいか 対戦の釣りができたけど 食わせれずに次の日に繰り越し
次の日 まずは難しくなくブラインドで釣れるプールへ。FJ氏に2度口先を出してやったライズを紹介 その後ライズせず待たされるFJ氏。ようやく準備が終わったSさんとブラインドでアントで叩く いきなりSさんが50オーバーを釣る これでホッとする その後 次のプールでも木の下でプチっとやるライズ3匹をFJさんに紹介。立ち位置までの寄り方、キャストのタイミング フライの選択も抜群だけど ナンバー3を釣ってしまうFJ氏。
残すは昨日のあのライズ
午後２時 やっぱりバンク際でライズしていた。
昨日はSさんが苦しめられた魚だけど 午前中の1匹でSさんは満足。FJ氏に託す
ライズは数回繰り返され、それほど難しくないバンク際のライズだったので、FJ氏の腕に迷いはなく 見事にアントで掛けた。60cmのオスのニジマスだった
話を戻すと 技術の違うお2人。どっちがデッカい魚に出会えるか？と考える。確実に技術は劣るけどSさんの方にチャンスが多かった。苦しめられるライズもあったけど。そもそもライズしてくれてることが不思議なくらい 運が強い。
1日目のブラインドで出た事故的な魚も運
2日目の51cmのブラインドも運
FJ氏が釣った60cmもSさんが釣る予定だった魚
そしてFJ氏の60cmの後にライズした魚も結局切られたけどデカかった。
2日間見てて 思ったのは
釣りがうまい方が良いにこしたことはないのは間違いない。だけど 上手じゃない方がチャンスがたくさんあったということ。
気の合う仲間 2人で楽しむのも いいなぁ、、、と
いろいろまた教わったので フライ巻いてます
雨が終わったらまた羽蟻注意報が出そうですね！
This is something I’ve been thinking about: if you put an expert fly angler and a reasonably skilled angler side by side, who is more likely to catch the biggest fish?
Every day as a guide, I meet different people with different personalities, different expectations, and different ways of fishing. Over the last two days, my guests were two stylish gentlemen with silver hair peeking out from beneath their caps and polarized sunglasses.
One was FJ, an expert-level fly fisherman who loves the real challenge. He’s the kind of angler who can spend an entire day waiting for a single rising trout on the Kinugawa River.
The other was Mr. S. He isn’t at that level, but he casts well and enjoys the challenge.
Because the rivers were stained from continuous rain, we searched for clearer water.
At the first pool, FJ immediately noticed the tiny rise rings at the head of the pool. Before I knew it, he was already stripping line from his reel and getting ready.
While he was focused on that fish, I took Mr. S to the flat section of the pool where there wasn’t a single rise.
“No rising fish here,” I thought. “Let’s just leave a big dry fly out there and see what happens.”
On his third cast, a huge rainbow trout exploded through the surface and crushed the fly.
It happened so suddenly.
He survived two powerful runs, but as the trout charged toward a fallen tree, he tightened up for just a moment…
Snap.
The line broke.
It might have been another 60 cm fish like the one we landed back in June.
That afternoon, FJ quickly caught another fish that was making subtle rises, so I gave the next rising trout to Mr. S.
This one refused everything.
The fly wasn’t landing quite right.
Even so, he had nearly 30 minutes of genuine one-on-one battle with that fish before we finally decided to leave it for the next day.
The following morning, we started at a pool where fish could usually be caught without waiting for rises.
I showed FJ a trout that rose twice, just barely showing its nose.
Then… nothing.
The fish disappeared, leaving him waiting.
While that was happening, Mr. S blind-fished with a flying ant pattern.
Almost immediately, he landed a rainbow over 50 cm.
That took a lot of pressure off everyone.
At the next pool, I found three trout making tiny rises beneath overhanging trees.
FJ approached perfectly.
His positioning.
His timing.
His fly selection.
Everything was textbook.
But he ended up catching only the smallest of the three fish.
That left just one fish…
The difficult trout from yesterday.
At 2 p.m., it was right where we’d hoped—rising again along the bank.
Yesterday it had given Mr. S a hard time, but after catching his fish that morning, he was happy.
So we handed this opportunity to FJ.
The trout rose several more times.
It wasn’t an impossibly difficult rise, and FJ never hesitated.
He presented a flying ant perfectly.
The fish ate.
A beautiful 60 cm male rainbow trout.
So back to the original question.
Between these two anglers with very different skill levels, who had more chances to meet a truly big fish?
Surprisingly, it was Mr. S.
Even though his technical skills weren’t at FJ’s level, the opportunities kept coming his way.
Yes, one rising fish frustrated him.
But the fact that the fish kept rising at all almost felt unbelievable.
The giant fish that appeared while blind fishing on the first day—that was luck.
The 51 cm fish on the second morning—that was luck too.
The 60 cm trout FJ eventually caught was originally the fish I’d intended for Mr. S.
And even after FJ landed that fish, another huge trout rose nearby.
It eventually broke the line, but it was another giant.
Watching these two anglers for two days reminded me of something.
There’s no question that being a better angler gives you an advantage.
But sometimes, the person with less skill simply gets more opportunities.
Fishing has room for luck.
And maybe that’s one of the things that makes it so fascinating.
It was also a pleasure watching two good friends enjoy the river together.
As for me, I’ve learned a few new things from them.
So now I’m back at the vise, tying more flies.
Once this rain finally stops…
Don’t be surprised if another flying ant hatch begins.
