I’ve now visited the Bend twice, both times in pouring rain with the river far too dirty to fish. But that’s far from my biggest problem.
On my latest trip, when everyone headed off for an afternoon nap, I decided to skip the river and give the still waters a try. I therefore got Dave to sketch me up a rough map of the dams on the property, grabbed my fly rods, and headed out for an afternoon session.
My first stop was at Otter Dam which was too dirty to dedicate any time too. So I quickly popped over to Three Springs Dam which, although dirty, was fishable. I kitted up my rods and began prospecting the wall with minimal confidence. There was little sign of activity so after 15 minutes I called it and decided to look for cleaner water.
This meant heading over a hill/mountain to a lesser fished water know as Hidden Dam. It took me 30 minutes to reach it on slippery farm roads but was well worth it. When I walked up to the water’s edge it was crystal clear. My confidence immediately grew and I began fishing the wall with purpose.
Sadly this lasted all of 5 minutes before the heavens opened and it began pouring with rain. Thankfully I had my Columbia fishing jacket on me and thus continued on, bone dry. Another 5 minutes past before I tangled my line around some reeds. Rather than bending over and untangling it ,I gave it a sharp tug, and SNAP! The fly line came free in two distinct pieces.
At this point I decided it was not my day, collected my now 2 fly lines, and headed to the car. I carefully drove back over the hill in the pouring rain, before moping into the house, looking a little worse for wear. It had been over 2 hours, I’d fished for a maximum of 20 minutes, had caught nothing, and had snapped a fly line (something I’ve never done before).
Sharon took one look at me and kindly commented that she’d never seen me looking so broken after a trip. Dave meanwhile took the opportunity to tell me I had “The Bend Curse”. Two trips, both in the rain, no fish caught, and a snapped line. Let’s hope I get another invite and that things improve.
