By Christine Patton, Rod & Gun Club
FISHING TALES, FAR AND NEAR
Our first fishing tale is from Mona Brewer, who this summer ventured out to fish in Spain’s Pyrenees Mountains where she caught her first Zebra!
In the remote mountains of the Basque country, where villages have a population of 35 people who speak a dialect that few understand, rivers are secluded and fishermen who have access find that they have the time to really work the water. While husband Harold was off birding (that’s another story), Mona was fishing in just such a river, casting across the water to a spot under the trees, where she could see the swirl of a big fish. Fishing dry flies in the Spanish style, with a huge, 16 foot leader, she tried fly after fly on her quarry, moving up in size from one fly to the next — Caddis, Adams, 25 different flies, everything in the box! — but unable to match the hatch.
Finally, she was rewarded with her first Zebra, pictured here.
On the other side of the Atlantic, so close that we’ll call it home, here’s a tale from Tom Davidson, Jr in his own words that’s “Unbelievable but True”:
“On October 5th, fishing in the homeowner’s channel I had hooked 12 and landed 7 tarpon. Number 13 was just a bit different, I hooked the tarpon and got it to the boat several times, but on attempt number 4 to remove the hook from the fish (about 35 pounds) it leapt from my grasp taking my rod and reel with it. The entire thing witnessed by some delighted workers installing a new roof on a Member’s home. I cursed for a while and then decided to go back to fishing. The very next cast, with my mullet swimming on the surface, I felt tension on my line. It didn’t feel quite right — there was weight at the end of the line, but no fight. I continued to reel in, eventually to see that I had hooked the rod that I had just lost and even more to my surprise, the tarpon was still firmly hooked! I proceeded to land the fish and the rod. Number 13 turned out to be my lucky number that day.”
Have a shooting or fishing experience to share? Send details, photos and any info to pattonchristine@me.com, please.