Wipers/Hybrids on the Fly- Part 2

I quickly got on the phone and asked the wife to pick up dinner as well as the kids.  I also begged to say out until dark.  The excitement in my voice must have been both obvious and sincere because she gladly said yes.  I made a few more casts with nothing to show and figured that I might have spooked everything in the area so I moved down shore about 25 yards.  About 3 casts later was all it took for me to get hooked up again.  It was another wiper that probably came in around 3-4 pounds.  After a few pictures, I started making phone calls.  I just couldn’t keep this kind of fortune to myself.

I first called Luke (remember, the Midwest Drift fella) to tell him that the wiper bite was on and that he needed to grab some gear and get to the dam.  He said he would be there in about 35 minutes.  I then called Austin (former student, experienced fly fisherman, and contributor to this site).  I had to leave an enthusiastic message that might have been on the borderline of yelling.  I then called Matt at Rainbow Fly Shop.  I informed him that he needed to either close the store and get to the dam OR tell every customer that came in the shop to grab an 8 weight and get to the dam.  While I waited for some folks to show up, I got back to fishing.

I moved down the shore about another 25 yards and that’s when things really heated up.  I ended up catching three fish on about five casts that were either small wipers or big white bass.  While this was by far the best luck I had ever had fishing off the dam, a part of me was hoping that the luck would hold up until other folks arrived.  I didn’t want to promise them fish only to have the school of fish move along.  That would leave them disappointed and me looking like a moron!  About that time, I got another bite and something happened that has never happened to me in my life!

The line went tight and the fish made an aggressive run.  Again, I was into my backing and the head shakes told me that I probably had another wiper in the 6-8 pound class.  While I was starting to gain some ground after about 5 minutes into the fight, I noticed that the connection between my fly line and backing looked a little frayed.  I later surmised that it was due to a few fish getting into my backing and the knot rubbing against the guides of the rod.  I also realized in the coming days that I have had this rod and line combination for about 15 years.  I don’t use this rod a lot and got it to take to Canada back in 2002 to throw at pike.  I only use this rod when fishing for wipers, white bass, and BIG largemouth.  I also realized that the knot between the backing and fly line was also 15 years old.  With all of that being said, I shouldn’t have been shocked when the knot broke but that’s hindsight for you.

So there I was, standing on a dam with the fish bighting like crazy and fresh out of fly line to throw at said fish.  I also realized that I had just lost about 60-90 dollars worth of fly line.  Sure I was a little bummed, but that feeling quickly changed to problem-solving mode.  I knew I had to get back into the game.  I knew I had to get some new fly line, or a new reel, or something to make up for my loss.  Also, if you remember from yesterday’s post, I only had one fly with me on this particular outing.  That too was lost to the fish that took my fly line and needed to be replaced.  However, I wasn’t ready for this story to be over!  Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?  Heck no, and it wasn’t over for me!  (That’s an Animal House reference.  I know the Germans didn’t bomb Pearl Harbor.)