Fishing In The Zone

Fishing has always been one of my favorite activities. It runs rampant in my family. My grandpa, dad, brothers, sisters, uncles and cousins all love or loved to fish. Some of my greatest memories since childhood have involved fishing.

Contrarily, I know a lot of people who don't care to fish because they get bored easily and their patience is limited. For me, I have never had a problem getting bored. I have always caught fish and I believe that is the determining factor as to whether a person enjoys fishing or not. If you aren't catching fish then you feel you are wasting your time. 

I don't think I would ever feel that way myself because part of the enjoyment is being in the outdoors and taking in the beauty that God has created in this world. A majestic mountain with evergreen trees mixed in with the many fall colors provided by the other trees and bushes. A smooth flowing river intermittently flowing over rocks and following an aged path towards the ocean. The many forms of wildlife living life without human distractions. The sounds of the water passing by or the wind gently blowing in the trees. The music of the chirping birds. The clear, clean mountain air easily breathed into your lungs. You literally see, hear, smell and feel the joy that God sent you to earth to have.

Sometimes I enjoy a peaceful excursion to a mountain lake by myself. I take my fly rod and float tube and experience the tranquility of the surroundings. After catching a few fish, I reel in the line and place the rod across the front of my tube. I pull my hat down over my eyes and drift on the water and in my mind. It is the most refreshing sleep I can ever enjoy.

I enjoy seeing the passion that others have for fishing as well. I see many who know the local Cabela's store like the back of their hands. They have all the gear to make the fishing easier and to give them an air of confidence through the outfits they wear. I must admit that they do look amazing. I get a little jealous and decide to invest in new wardrobe and gear myself. Then I see what it costs to look that good.  $60 for a fishing shirt, $80 for pants, $180 for breathable waders, $100 for a fishing vest, $300 for a fly rod, $200 for a reel, etc. And those were the sale prices! I weighed out the decision. What was I getting for my money? Was it worth $1000+ just to look good? Would it help me catch fish? My old stuff never seemed to hinder my ability to do that. I just couldn't do it.

I walked over to the clearance rack and purchased two shirts for $15 each and a pair of pants for $20. The shirts were a size to big but I figured I would eventually fill them out and the pants seemed to fit perfectly so I'm not sure why they were getting rid of them so cheap. 

The point is, I don't look like many of my friends who fish a lot. I have my dad's philosophy of, it doesn't matter what you look like or the fancy gear you have, it matters that you catch fish. So I take my low end Ugly Stik fly rod and my over sized fishing shirt and I head to the mountains. 

I recall one trip that justified our thinking the best way possible. 

It was around 1994 and we planned a little trip up to Lowman, Idaho in the Boise National Forest. We all enjoyed fishing in the South Fork of the Payette River. One of our favorite campgrounds was the Mountain View Campground about a mile east of the ranger station. This particular trip was the last real camping and fishing trip that I remember with my Grandpa Hallenberger. 

My wife and I met my grandparents at the campground. Also there to greet us was my Dad's sister Lela and her family. My Dad and his wife and many of my siblings showed up shortly after we arrived. Lela had brought up their large camp trailer and she and my Uncle Blaine shared it with my Grandparents. The rest of us spread out across the campground in tents. 

Aunt Lela

We had a great time together. We made s'mores at night and Dad played his guitar and we all sang along many of the songs we had known for years. We told stories and everyone laughed and had fun. Many of us stayed up and talked until well after 1:00am. I just love being around a campfire with family. 

During the days we spent time exploring, fishing and even enjoying a little dip at Kirkham Hot Springs a few miles up the road. Kirkham is a natural spring that is extremely hot in places but when it mixes with the river water it is cooled just enough to enjoy the heat and relax your muscles in. 

Kirkham Hot Springs

One day the family decided to take all the kids up to the hot springs and let them swim. My wife, Trina, decided to join them. Everyone ended up going except for me and my Grandpa. He wasn't feeling real well and decided to stay back and take it easy. He also wanted to get dinner started so it would be ready later. Grandpa made the world's best ham hock and beans! I was happy to stay back with him and figured I could get a little fishing done as well. Plus there was never better company than Grandpa. He was my hero and I loved every minute with him.

Grandpa

After everyone left I grabbed my fishing gear and began to string some new line onto my reel. Grandpa sat next to me near the fire and we talked about lots of things like baseball, fishing and of course family. I loved Grandpa's fishing stories. He was no only a great fisherman but also a wonderful story teller. When I finally got my reel and rod together and was ready to head to the river, Grandpa told me he was going to lay down for a few minutes in the trailer. I told him I would check in on him in about a half hour and I headed down to the banks near camp. 

I rounded up a few grasshoppers and placed them into a small Styrofoam container and then found what looked like might be a good spot to fish. I surveyed the river back and forth and found a deep hole created by a large rock in front of it. I saw a couple of fish swimming and decided it was perfect. I took out one of the grasshoppers and placed it on the hook. I placed a single small sinker about 36 inches above the grasshopper. I placed the line over my finger and lifted the bail over the spindle. I slowly drew the rod back and then flicked it forward releasing the line with my finger at the precise time so that the grasshopper would land just above the hole. The grasshopper slowly dropped over the large rock and into the hole. Right as it got into the hole a flash of silver flickered just beneath the water. The line went tight and the pole responded with a tug. I gave the rod a firm lift and set the hook. The fish was on. I let it play the line a little and then slowly reeled him in. I reached down with my net and swooped it up into the air. It was a nice little rainbow about 11 inches long. I removed the hook carefully and then set the fish back into the river and watched it swim back to the hole.

I repeated the process and recast my line. This time nothing happened. The grasshopper eventually floated right through the hole and down the river. I tried about 5 or 6 more times. That's weird, I thought to myself. Are these fish that intelligent to know what happened the first time? Usually when a fish attacks a type of bait so quickly it is a good sign that that is the best bait to use. But these fish were not biting anymore.

I decided to try something else. I pulled out my little container of night crawlers as well as the jar of Balls O' Fire salmon eggs. I broke one of the large worms in half and threaded it onto the hook the way my Grandpa had shown me many years before. Then on the end of the hook just over the barb I placed a salmon egg. I removed the sinker from above the hook as now the weight of the worm was sufficient for my needs. I then cast the line and watched as the worm crossed over the rock. Within seconds I felt the tugging of the rod and I had hooked another fish. I reeled it in and it was similar to the first fish but maybe an inch shorter.  Again I released it back to the river. 

The worm was still intact on the hook but the salmon egg had fallen off. I placed another one in it's place and then cast again. Almost identical to the previous attempt and almost an identical result. This time the fish was a little larger, maybe 12 inches. This went on for about 15 minutes. Fish after fish after fish. I got a little thirsty so I left my gear at the bank and went up to camp and got a Mountain Dew from the cooler. I drank a little and walked over to the trailer to check on Grandpa. Right as I knocked on the door he appeared from the around the front of the trailer. He said he was feeling a little better and decided to clean out his tackle box. I told him how great the fishing was and he told me he had experienced that many times throughout his life. I smiled and asked if he needed anything. He said no he had everything he needed so I headed back to the river. On my way I caught the aroma of the beans drifting through the campground. My mouth watered as I thought of dinner that night. 

I picked up my pole and made sure the worm and egg were still good to go. "Let's try it again" I said out loud to myself. I cast the line and voila, fish on! Right then I heard the family coming back. My cousins Tory, Sid and Jason all came right down to the river along with my little brother John and my sisters Heidi and Rebecca. I told them about all of the success I was having. We decided to start keeping some of the fish so we could have them with the beans that night. Tory, Sid and Jason all ran up to get their fishing poles. I stayed back and continued to catch fish. I let John, Heidi and Rebecca bring a few in as well. When my cousins returned I told them what to put on their lines.  

Just then a couple of guys showed up on the opposite side of the river. They saw me pulling out fish after fish and decided to check it out. I normally don't like to share my success secrets but I thought it would be OK and I also thought it was pretty cool that these particular guys had asked. They were decked out in all the finest gear and I could tell that their rods were exquisite. "What are you using?" one of them asked. I replied honestly and they looked at me funny. "Seriously?" they asked. I nodded and they seemed to accept it. They quickly took out their worms and salmon eggs and rigged their hooks as I had recommended. 

Tory and Sid

So now my little fishing hole was filled with lines. Mine was now accompanied by my 3 cousins' and the two strangers who looked like professional fisherman. I felt the tug on my pole and handed it over to Heidi. She struggled to reel it in but finally did. I cast again. This time I handed the pole to Rebecca and I helped her reel another in. I cast again and caught another, then another, then another. Tory and Sid thought it was pretty funny that I was the only one catching fish. The pros and Jason however were not amused. I let Jason reel a couple in so he wouldn't be upset. The pros kept trying and even changed up their bait but they ended up leaving without catching so much as a bite.

After bringing in about a dozen fish I decided to mix it up a bit. I took about 5 feet of line and tied it up above my existing line. I tied a fly to the end of it. I checked my other hook and saw that the worm and egg were still usable. I cast the line again and watched the worm plop right into the hole. The fly landed just beyond it and floated on the top of the water. The familiar tug on the pole and I had another 12 inch fish on. I began to reel it in. About 1/3 the way in I was startled as my pole suddenly doubled over and almost came out of my hands. I gathered myself and began to fight the line. Just then a huge fish jumped out of the water thrashing it's body around and slapping itself on the surface as reentered the water. My family started screaming and my heart leaped in my chest with excitement. I let the fish have a little line and tried to keep just enough pressure so that the hook wouldn't come out of it's mouth. It jumped a couple more times and tried to go downriver. I walked along the bank struggling to keep the line from breaking. Finally after a valiant fight the fish tired out and I was able to bring him to shore. I tried to net it but it was too big. I put my fingers under the gills and removed the hook. I lifted up the fish and then noticed a flash of white on the ground. Laying there with a hook still in it's mouth was an 11 inch fish. That was the first fish to hit my line. 

The fish in my hand was 25 inches long and was fat. I was so excited. My family had gathered around to see the monster. It sure looked like a rainbow trout but I had never seen one that large in that river. I figured I better make sure. I knew that there were salmon in that river but that it was illegal to catch them. I took the fish and ran back to camp looking for my Grandpa. When I finally found him I showed him the fish and begged him excitedly, "Please tell me this is a rainbow!"

Grandpa took the fish and examined it. "Wow" he said. "I haven't seen a fish this big in the Payette River since back in the 60's." 

"Yeah, yeah Grandpa, but is it legal?" I responded. 

"Oh yes," he said. "This is actually a native rainbow rather than the rainbows they plant here."

"Yessss!! I exclaimed. "Thanks Grandpa!!

I went back to the river and grabbed the rest of the fish and cleaned them all out in the river. I then placed them all in foil and into the cooler filled with ice. We would cook them up later to go with Grandpa's beans!

Everyone was talking about my fish. They were all laughing at how the professionals had come down and couldn't even get a bite in the same hole that I was catching fish on every cast in. I suppose I was in the zone and it was awesome. A couple of hours later and the Fish & Game Ranger stopped by. He said he had heard about a large fish caught in the area and he wanted to check it out. I was a little nervous and hoped that my Grandpa had known what he was talking about when he identified the fish for me. I took the Ranger over to the cooler and opened it up. The fish was bent upwards on the ends because it didn't fit the cooler.

The Ranger looked closely and shook his head. I got butterflies in my stomach. Then he turned to me and said that it was a beautiful fish. It was the largest one he had seen in over 15 years working as a Ranger in the area. He congratulated me and shook my hand and then told us all to have a good day. The family began to pat me on the back again and I was so happy. 

It was a great trip. My wife, my family, my Grandpa and a giant fish. Life was good!