Through several tour of duties, through dozens of cutties and rainbows, it's stayed with me
Hung up in branches, slapped on the water by a few rookies and it's stayed with me.
Chewed to shit by big fish and little fish alike, frayed with legs missing, its stayed with me
My father in law asked what it mimics on the water. Couldnt tell you, maybe a Stone, maybe a Hopper...who cares, fish like it, A LOT.
This Chubby Chernobyl has officially been retired to my Fly Hall of Fame. Not so much for specific patterns, but specific flies who went on and on, catching fish after fish and hanging in there.
We've all put a fly only to have it's hackle unfurl or countless other calamities that can occur, rendering it useless. That's utter frusteration
But not this guy. It's done work, and now....to my personal Fly Hall of Fame
Others out there...tell me about a special fly that you hold onto and wont fish again. Maybe it's the fly to rise your first fish. Maybe it's your first swung steelhead. Sure would love to hear those stories, and I would also love to repost them here at Chucking Line and Chasing Tail.
Send your fly stories to jmills81@hotmail.com
Thanks for reading!
A fly worthy of retirement for sure. Great read, Josh. I'll send you an email with a photo of the only fly I ever retired.
ReplyDeleteShort one... I had a hat band full of retirees perched up there in the sun at the top of the world where they could just sit back and take in the action, their days of being submersed long gone... and they were rough - peacock hearl poking out of the body, hackles un-spun, base thread showing through... but what stories this collection of battle hardened, geezer flies could tell.
ReplyDeleteLost he had band getting out of the truck at a launch the other day... slipped off the hat, - gone. I guess you have to learn to let go of flies one way or the other....