Finding the Slot.....

       Hello all and thanks for checking in at The O’Grady Fly Fishing Adventures. On Saturday my son came down from the Springs and we went golfing. As we were waiting for an opening, an old golfing buddy showed up and joined us. He was a little apprehensive at first because he told me that he had really been struggling. I assured him that my game was nothing like it was many years ago, and then I went out and proved it. John’s first few shots were pretty bad and then things just seemed to click for him, he pounded one drive after another. He told me that about a month or so ago he was watching the Golf channel and picked up a new tip. The first few times out he said it was awesome, but since that time, he said he was hitting it as bad as he ever had and was doing everything he could to get back to where he was before.

    The story got me thinking of some of those old days when I was totally addicted to golf. I remember constantly tinkering with my swing and trying different things, and then one night I would be on the driving range and all of a sudden I would feel something just a little different in my swing and the ball would rocket 350 yards off the club with a slight draw. Next swing, I would hold in place that little thing I felt before and then swing after swing try and put it into the same position. When the spot was felt we called it “finding the slot”. Well that particular feeling I would try to replicate for the next several days and before I knew it, I couldn’t hit the ball out of my shadow. The slot was gone and I would realize that as I kept searching for that feeling I just kept getting farther a farther away. I guess that is why I eventually began flyfishing.

     So as I continued to live in my own brain over the weekend I began to wonder how “the Slot” might relive itself in the fishing world. I remember a few years back when Alex first got the Sage One in the shop. Alex had a 9 foot 5 wt. and asked me to give it a try. I took it out and found the rod super simple to cast. I love to have enough power to just get to the end of my drift and either lefty or righty, throw a big roll cast back up river. Total lazy man fishing(plus I look cool doing it). I casted a few time and hooked a fish, I fought him for a little while and eventually got him landed. I was a little surprised at the size of the fish; the stress I felt in my arm had me thinking it was a bigger fish than it was. A few more casts and the same thing, a fifteen inch fish that I felt more in my arm than the rod. So I walked away from that experience really liking the way the rod had cast, but not so much how it fought fish.

    As most of our readers know I had a 4wt. Sage One put in my hand last year and I absolutely fell in love with the rod. The rod was everything I could have ever want in a rod, it had big enough “nads” to toss line into our lovely windy days and it fought fish like a dream, so over the weekend I started thinking. I hadn’t touched a 5wt One in a few years and wondered if it still felt the same as it did a few years ago? I don’t remember which rod I was fishing at that time, but really wanted to know if “the Slot” on the rod still felt the same. I headed out this afternoon for a few hours just to play with the 5wt. With the water coming up over the weekend and so many of the fish still getting down and dirty, I really didn’t expect much but hoped I could feel at least one fish. I got to the river and saw a few people downstream and decided I wanted to get below them. As I walked by they asked me if I had had any luck and I told them that I just got there and didn’t really expect much. I got about a hundred yards below them and a few casts in I hooked, fought and landed a beautiful 17 in male. One of the guys said that it wasn’t fair and I think I gave him the old blind squirrel saying. Winston on the other hand winked at the guys as if to say yep, that’s where I told him to cast. I walked down a little farther and the next cast produced my fish of the day, a 20 inch female. The guys wanted know what the fish were eating and after a short lesson I moved on down river. 
    Every other hole seemed to produce one fish. I was able to get into the correct light and was able to find a few feeding fish. On about the sixth fish I reminded myself that the reason I went fishing was to figure out how this rod felt fighting fish. I honestly didn’t feel much difference from my 4wt. The rod was powerful and I could feel the fish, what more could I have asked for. I’m not sure what it was that I was feeling those few years back, was it that different from what I was fishing at the time. I don’t know, it kind of makes me scratch my head, but I will tell you this, when it comes to the Sage One, I am all in......well almost all in Winston is keeping his name.

  I would love to give glowing reports on the river, but I need to be very careful. It was great to see some fish eating today but still saw a ton of fish on reds. These are the days that I actually love; very technical fishing but do it to feeding fish. If you caught fish today pat yourself on the back, you earned it. Fish seemed to not be seriously feeding but kind of sofa feeding on tv dinners(for those of you that have taken my guide trips you know what I mean.) Flies were a little strange today; I caught fish on eggs, a 20 Ninja and a Caddis larva of my own. The eggs were kind of strange, fish either seemed to want it or they were really spooked by it. I know that doesn’t really make sense, but it was just kind of my feeling on the water. I am hoping that the fish complete their spawn over the next ten days or so and move back into their traditional feeding lanes. As always Connell, Cat, Winston, birdies and eagles, and The Drift Fly shop want to thank you for reading…..