Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1913-11-20

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other cast. and the same thing hap
pened. The Gillie's plight was pitt
full, and he looked a nervous wreck
as he made his fourth try. This time
the big fish meant business, for he
took the fly with vicious pull. No
need for the Gillie to strike.
The fish did all the hooking and
then left the water for a complete
somersault in the air. Then just to
show the audience that this was moth
ing unusual, he came out again and
went around once and a half.
A gallant fight he made, making
several leaps clear of the water, but
Diana was equal to the occasion and
met every rush half way. Twice the
fish ran clear across the stream and
it kept our fair angler very busy
looking after her line. Finally she
got it all back on her reel, and the
Gillie very cleverly beached the fish,
which proved to be fine specimen,
weighing over four pounds.
BY this time the shadows were be-
ginning to lengthen, so we decided to
return to the faored spot above the
falls. All afternoon the pool had
kaan avnooad 70 tba hot Auore+ e,r
so it struck me that any shady bit of
water would be likely spot. At the
head of the pool found just such a
place where a smooth stretch of rock
reached clear ashore, and lay partly
in the shadow of some tall cotton
woods. Here / waded slowly out un-
til the lazy current swirled the water
around my hips.
A few casts worked out enough line
and l let the fly settle. 1t took sew
eral drifts before the fly sank prop
erly, when l let out another ten feet
of line. Now the fly was over very
likely water, so l watched it, closely.
A slight bulge on the surface caught
my eye, followed by gentle pull on
the line, and l struck sharply.
The next moment all was commo-
tion, for l had hooked regular bull
moose. Down stream he went, rip
ping off twenty feet of line at jerk,
until the reel fairly smoked. When
fully 100 feet away he gave one wild
leap clear of the water and then set
sail for the falls, while I tried my
best to get ashore before my line
gave out. 1t was almost a dead heat,
for l had but ten feet left on the
spool when l finally started down
after him. Once in the pools below
it was a question of wearing him out
slowly, which 1 did very cautiously,
and when a friendly wave helped
wash him ashore sure had record
breaker. The scales showed a weight
of nine and one-half pounds and he
proved to be the largest fish on the
entire trip.
In fact, it may be said that these
fish can be taken the year around.
The fly fishing always extends until
late November, and with spoon and
bath the fish are caught until much
later
There is something peculiar about
the fly fishing for steelheads, and
which has never been satisfactorily
explained. On the upper river, above
Medford, the big fellows begin strik-
ing the fly in July, sometimes in late
June, while forty miles down river
the fly casters work in vain. Wealth
er conditions are the same and the
water is of the same temperature,
yet for some reason there is no early
fly fishing. About the first of Sep
tember, however, the fishermen at
Grants Pass begin taking fish with
the fly, and toward the end of this
month the steelheads rise to the
feathered lures all along the lower
stretches of the river
Last fall was a dry season on the
lower Rogue and the anglers near
Billings ranch, in the West Fork dis
trict, caught steelheads until about
Christmas Then a heavy rain col
ored the water and the rise brought
in run of very large fish. Bait fish
ing with salmon roe was then in or
der and it was during this run that
Harry Hosler of Ashland caught
what is considered the record steel
head for hook and line fishing on the
Rogue. 1t was SO inches long and
weighed a trifle over IA pounds.
Tn thasa dave when SO much is be-