The century weekend aside, I've been fishing a fair amount the last month, but rarely with Chris Raine. Sometimes it just happens - you end up not fishing with a good friend for a while - but once you notice, it requires some attention before it becomes the norm.

There's nothing like a quick fix, so last night Chris and I returned to the site of my early-week Grand Slam (and no, don't even ask). This time, I only managed 2/3 of a Grand Slam, but since Chris got a brookie (different water, but same fish?), I guess you could say we managed the slam between us.


The net's 18" from end to end, and this brown hangs out. It's a good, good life.

The hatch, the fishing, and the catching weren't on a par with my last trip, but I still landed a big brown and a handful of nice rainbows, and lost one big, big fish that literally ran me all over river (several times) before he casually snapped the 6x tippet.

The bugs were small (Chris did best on a #18 sulphur while I stuck with my BWOs), but because I needed to protect delicate tippets while making long casts, I fished Raine's 8'3" 4wt "Spring Creek Special." It worked great - even when some moke brought a reel loaded with a 5wt line as opposed to a 4wt, and then got heavy-handed with a big fish.

Despite the big fish loss, last night was a huge success. After all, the day I don't have to sit down for a few deep breaths after landing a big brown trout is the day I should just lay down for good.

The Grand Slam
Every sport has its Grand Slams (including baseball, where I'm guessing the term originated), and fly fishing's no stranger to the term. No sooner had I posted about my Grand Slam (or is it Triple Play) than Ian Rutter wrote to say he'd just caught a grand slam on a remote stream, though he kindly added that he was "supposed to get one" while the Upper Sac variety was probably rarer.

Ian's pretty easygoing about results that most of us would consider exceptional, but that's more a reflection of his considerable skill on the water than his ego. His guiding business has slowed from the frenzied pace of winter and spring to the point that he's got time to hike ten miles and fish a small stream, catch a grand slam and then congratulate someone else about theirs.

A grand slam on some rivers might involve six different species, and I guess a real Upper Sac grand slam would probably include smallmouth and spotted bass, but three species was enough to make me stutter for a bit, so I'll save the bass for next week. Until then, enjoy your weekend, and I'll see you on the river, Tom Chandler.