upstream of the alternate channel—skinny water but a path to safety. This is a typical dynamic between Jim & Henry-- so classic, it is laughable. Commonly, they talk about their partnership as the “gas and brake.” Both attitudes play a significant role in their relationship, and have helped them get through some pretty outrageous outings together. Night climbs that were not intended to be night climbs and epics in small sea craft come to mind.
We run the little shoot and live to fish another run. My arms feel stiff as I twist the rod around; suddenly I find my hips swinging around in the same motion. My inner voice chimes in. Too much hip action Colt, you’re not a damned ribbon dancer. The line flows from the water in front of me and rolls out in a somewhat effective cast. Well… that kind of worked. I guess I’ll just have to cast while no one’s watching if I want to cast further than a couple of feet.
I know Jimmy well enough to expect a long day on the river during these outings. He’s filled with enough grit and optimism to fish every inch of the river if he had enough daylight. The guy doesn’t even drink coffee… I don’t understand how he does it. The sun sets behind the snow capped Olympic peaks before we are ready for the day to end. It’s getting dark. Quickly. And here we are, standing thigh deep in the chilly water of the Hoh while the biggest rapid of the day lies in waiting. “Heyo Jim buddy, do you think that uh… maybe… we should be moving down river?” “One last cast” he yells. I have a feeling that’s not the first time that response has come from his mouth. Jim flicks his rod tip effortlessly around, and the line falls on the water gracefully. I hold my breath as his fly swings through the run. He told me a story once about a steelhead that came on the last cast of the day. As the fly reached the end of the swing, Jim waited.
Nothing.
He reeled in line and walked back up the shore to his boat with a smile. It takes more than a few cold, fishless days to get this guy down. That smile of his got me thinking. The fun of all this -- the chase. If these fish were easy to catch, guys like Jim and Henry wouldn’t be out here.
Based on a true story.