Tom Schrader with a rainbow

1/22/00 NIGHT FISHING EXPEDITION

After Tom fished all day Saturday throwing a # 8, & #10 black bead head prince kicker, & landing six quality bows, he invited me to night fish the hole above cave riffle.

At 8:30 p.m. the moon was just rising above the east hills of the river valley, and was well hidden by clouds and rising mist on the water.

A temperature of 30 deg. posed no problem with freezing rod eyelets.

As we stood well out into the stream on a gravel shelf, casting across a deep seam, the thought occurred to me that blind people can flyfish. It was totally feel and sound to work the flyline.

This being my first night fishing experience, I ask Tom to demonstrate his finesse at catching big browns. He explained that this is the time of day when the big trout come out into the open waters to feed.

Again, casting is totally blind and it is a good idea to wear clear safety glasses, especially if you are with someone else.

Tom probably pulled off 50’ of working line & was throwing a #6 weighted marabou sculpin pattern.

After five or so casts, Tom’s voice lit up with the announcement of his first strike.                                                              Tom's night brown

Of course I could not verify and had to trust that Tom was not hallucinating from the mystic beauty of our surroundings.

It seemed only another ten minutes before Tom burst into joyous celebration as his line & rod came alive with "SOMETHING BIG ON." The zinging of his reel played beautiful music!

After five minutes of euphoria the 18" brown was pulled onto the streamside vegetation.

I was CONVINCED, & ready to get into the excitement of night fishing the North Fork.

Tom is not only an expert guide brimming with enthusiasm, he also casts right handed, while I am left-handed. This enabled me to stand ten to fifteen feet downstream from him and maintain his coaching communication. Tom told me to cast across & let it swing, then strip by the foot. He told me that most strikes are on the swing.

I immediately got a couple of good hits on a #6 weighted black flash-a-bugger. Soon I too was hooked into my biggest brown ever AND, night fishing:)

Landing this beautiful big fish (17"), was an especially thrilling experience in the dark.....since one’s imagination adds extra thrill to the fight.

We fished for another thirty minutes before heading into a late supper. Tom landed another trophy before we climbed back into the canoe and headed home.

A nice brown trout caught by
Tom Schrader on his night time outing.

As I dropped Tom off at the Chalet with much thanks and wishing him a good nights rest, I thought he was finished for the evening. However Sunday morning as I gave him a wake-up call for breakfast, he informed me that he had gone back out and caught another eleven browns & bows. Seven browns over 14" & two bows, one measuring 18".

He left the stream at 5:30 a.m. with a smile frozen on his face.

Myron

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River of Life Farm
RR. 1 Box 4535
Dora, MO 65637
417-261-7777
Myron@RiverofLifeFarm.com