The Tangler temporarily found the key to unlock the treasure chest of the Delaware. Tuesday, September 26 found me fishing a pool not far from our cabin. It was a dark, occasionally drizzly day. The sort of weather that often produces a good hatch of tiny, olive mayflies, of the Baetis family. Sure enough, as I waded out from the bank, I could see trout rising and lots of tiny olives in the air and on the water. I was carrying two types of imitations to match this hatch. One, known as an RS-2 emerger, the other the Quigley Cripple. The RS-2 is a fly first tied by Rim Chung, a western fly tier and fly fisher. The RS stands for Rim's Semblance. The Quigley Cripple is a tie originated by Bob Quigley, another western fly fisher, who first made his reputation on Hat Creek. The RS-2 represents the mayfly just as it is splitting the nymphal shuck and is emerging in the water film. The Quigley, as its name suggests, represents a fly which was able to only partially emerge from the nymphal shuck, and then became stuck. It is, therefore, unable to dry its wings and take flight. Their predicament makes them easy prey for the trout.

I elected to fish these flies as a "tango." The Quigley was tied first on the tippet, then a 12-inch piece of .005 tippet material was tied onto the hook bend of the Quigley, using a clinch knot. The RS-2 was then tied onto the added piece of tippet. Fishing the flies in this style gives a feeding trout two chances to make a mistake rather than only one. It was surprising how easy it was to see these flies on the water, even though they were tied on size #18 hooks. A fish rose some 20 feet out from me, slightly downstream of my position. On my second cast, the flies drifted directly over the fish's lie. It rose and sipped the RS-2. A gentle tightening of the line set the hook. A good-sized Rainbow put quite an arc into the little one and three-eighth-ounce, seven-and-one-half foot rod. Bit by bit, the pressure of the rod tired the trout. After two jumps and several minutes of struggling, the trout came to my hand and was lifted from the water. I held it upside down because in that position they do not wriggle as much. Measured against the rod, it went from the first guide to slightly past the ferrule, 16 and one half inches. The suppleness of the little rod was a great help in landing that large a fish on only a .005 tippet section. The stiffness of almost all graphite rods made today make them marvelous casting tools. Think for a moment, are you going casting, or are you going fishing? Even on the mighty Delaware, I hook all of my fish within 40 feet of my position.

Moments later I hooked and landed a really fat 15-inch Rainbow. This fish took the Quigley pattern. I went against conventional wisdom while playing both of these fish. From John Alden Knight in the late 40's, to the present day, all the experts insist you must, "get the fish on the reel," once the hook up is made. Upon reading Knight's words, that is the way I have always played a fish. Over the years other writers reinforced that notion. However, I gradually came to realize, that really large fish often were able to break off when played from the reel. I have decided to go back to the old way I used when I first became a fly fisher. Instead of playing these fish from the reel, I simply stripped the line in between my fingers, letting any line gained float away on the surface of the water. By holding the line lightly between my fingers, I was able to instantly let the trout take out line when it wanted to run. Between the softness of the rod and the line sliding between my fingers, the trout was never able to give a solid jerk to the delicate tippet. In the past several weeks, I have played a dozen or so fish in this manner. I am becoming convinced that this method of playing a trout to the hand or the net is more effective in protecting light tippets than playing a fish off of the reel. I know, I know, all the experts say it's the wrong way to play a fish. May I politely suggest you go against this conventional wisdom and give this old-fashioned way of playing a trout a try. I quote to you an old Will Rogers saying, "It ain't the things that people don't know that's the problem; it's what they do know that just ain't so."

If you are not familiar with the fly patterns mentioned in this column, drop a post card to The River Reporter and the Tangler will send you the tying instructions. There is still a little time left to enjoy good times where the regulations allow fall fishing. Grab your rod and get it in gear. Go fishing.