Oscar is the large brown that lives below the culvert
at Stump's place on Mossy Creek.
I caught this picture of him last winter one day when I was fishing
below the culvert
for him and his friend. I managed to catch his friend but have
never been able to
hook up with him. He has eluded me for three years.
He usually holds in the slack water to the right just
below the culvert, though some
times he is just above the culvert in a narrow channel between
the grasses. This evening
I saw him holding in six inches of water just below the rocks
on the right. I cast to him
several times but he always turned away and once even spooked
into the deeper water.
Thinking I might be able to trick him into a take,
I came back to him after a little rest
and tried skittering the Tweeter Caddis past his nose a couple
times. The second pass
was too much for him and he turned and closed on my fly. Bang,
I had him on. What a
monster on my tiny 3 wt. five piece fly rod.
Though he is very heavy and very strong, he is a lazy
boy and came in close fairly quickly.
I dragged him into the shallows at my feet. Dick has
caught him three times and
says he is 24 inches. I think that is a little optimistic. I would
guess at around 22.
He had the fly well inside his big mouth. Rather than
risk having my fingers torn up
by his healthy teeth, I got out the pliers and got the fly out
quickly.
Mary Lu snapped a quick shot of him. He is a heavy
one. I would guess around five pounds.
I held him in the shallows for some time till he was
stable. He rested there for a while.
I fished above for half an hour and, when I came back, he had
drifted a little further out.
When I cast the line over him to fish the top of the run, he spooked
and dashed to
the deep water. He is strong and healthy and ready for next time.
Oscar has been an elusive friend.
It is good
to finally make his acquaintance.
Postscript:
I got a letter from Kathy Wenger just today,
August 29, 2002. She said Dick found Oscar
lodged in the moss recently just below the
culvert where he has always lived. As Kathy
said, Mossy just isn't the same without Oscar.
It is always hard to lose a friend.