A Thing of Beauty



First Rainbow.

 You may have thought this post would be about the trout I love to chase more than any other, the brook trout. However, I wanted to place the spot light on a fish I had an early infatuation with.  I grew up fishing warm water with worms and spinner's and was quite happy with it too.  But after a trip with my grandfather to a local mall and seeing a tank full of beautiful rainbow trout, I was determined to catch one of those fish someday.  Problem is that rainbows are not native to NY and many of the places I fished would not support stockies either.  So the dream of catching one always remained in a dark little corner at the back of my brain. Last year I read a very interesting book on this beautiful trout titled "An Entirely Synthetic Fish."  Even though I read quite a bit I don't usually do "book reviews"  but I picked this book up and thought it was an excellent read.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves these fish, ecology, or just an interesting story.  The one thing the book also did for me was to spark my interest again for catching rainbows.  Up to this point I brookies and browns have been my thing but yesterday the rainbows reigned supreme.  I headed to White's Pool on the Nissequogue River and found it really crowded.  Me and my Tenkara rod found a small section along the left wall of the pool and went to work.  Everyone else was using spin gear and I got a few funny looks and some questions but was generally left alone.  After awhile I saw those other guys pull in one brown or brookie after another and began to wonder if I should go back for my spin gear but I like my tenkara and decided to stick with it.  Good thing too, after a half hour I hauled in my first rainbow, then another, then another, etc.  They averaged 9-10", small by the standards of many and not wild, but each gave a spirted fight.  The last one gave me a memory I won't soon forget.  After hooking up this little guy he began to put on an aerial display.  Most fish I catch kind of thrash at the surface but this guy was special.  Three times he broke the surface and launched himself 2-3 feet above the water and as gracefully as possible(it that is even possible to do it gracefully) tried to throw the hook.  In my opinion, it was spectacular and a great way to end the morning.  As I waded back down the river I remembered how as a kid I always wanted to catch a rainbow.  When I think about, a day like that made the wait worth it.  I will always remember my first brook trout and brown trout, where I was and what I caught them with.  Now I have the memory of my first rainbows to go with them.