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Harvey Offers a Gift

By “Reg” Chip Chipman  AZOD

I was retrieving a Mickey Finn streamer from downstream along an undercut bank. I saw the flash of the fish and then felt a hit. I yanked my fly rod upward. My Mickey Finn came flying out of the water without the fish and into an overhanging branch of a maple tree.

 Harvey was my mentor when I was in my early teens. I had done exactly what he had told me not to do. Whenever I erred, I just hoped that Harvey didn’t see it.

I heard his voice booming out before I saw him. 

“I am going to do it,” said Harvey.

 Harvey, as usually had seen the whole thing.

 “ Do what, Harvey?” I asked.

 “ Get you a monkey trained to get flies out of trees so you won’t be breaking your neck one of these days.”

 “I don’t need a monkey, I know what I did wrong.” I said.

 “And what was that?” he asked.

 “ I should have used a strip strike or a side strike.” I answered.

 “Why?” asked Harvey.

  “Well, if I miss the strike, the fly won’t come flying out of the water into a tree.”           

“What’s another advantage of the strip or side strike?” 

“You won’t have to buy me a monkey.” 

“Other than that,” replied Harvey. 

The fly stays under the water. If you miss the strike, the fly will still be in front of the fish and often he will hit it again.”

“There’s one more thing,” said Harvey. Harvey had that line long before Columbo on TV. 

What now, I thought. 

“You had too much slack in your line because you were holding your rod too high. On a strike, all slack line has to be removed before the hook can be set. Remember to keep your rod tip low and pointed toward the fly when fishing underwater flies. There are exceptions, but I don’t want to overload your mind. End of lecture, let’s catch some trout.” 

I shinnied up the tree and retrieved my fly. Then, I figured I would try for the fish I had just missed. I stripped some line from my reel and made a back cast. On the forward cast, my rod came to a sudden halt as my fly snagged a limb. I had forgotten about the overhang that had just captured my Mickey Finn. 

“Are you sure you don’t need a monkey?” said a grinning Harvey.