An Imbecile on a Coosa

[Doc Marshall]

Hey Folks,

Two weeks ago I rented a Coosa on a Friday when I had the day off. I'd previously tried out one owned by MidTNKayakAngler, so I felt pretty confident that I'd be fine going it alone.

For someone who's only familiar with the Harpeth and few warm Tennessee lakes, the scenery and ice cold water of the Caney were a nice surprise. I brought along two poles, some rooster tails, and a sandwich made with Benton's bacon. The river seemed mostly deserted.

Standing was no problem for me, and the maneuverability of the Coosa in running water made casting a breeze. I caught my first Caney trout (a brown?) while standing. What a joy. I'd never caught anything on a rooster tail before so I was taken completely by surprise.

I did, however, have some problems with the rod stagers. At one point, I reached for a light action pole at an awkward angle and it SNAPPED. When I turned to check it out, I knocked the other pole off of a stager with my leg. "It'll float" I told myself, but it sank like a bag of nickles. Ernest Goes to the Caney.

So there I was, half way into my trip, with one broken pole. I enjoyed the remainder of the ride and resolved to continue fishing with the broken pole. I could still cast.

An hour later I landed at the pickup site and brought the Coosa to shore. The pickup van was nowhere in sight so I waded into the river and began casting. BAM! I caught trout after trout! I couldn't believe it. Almost ever other cast was fruitful. Mostly rainbows.

A fly fisherman nearby was having the same luck. "Is this normal?" I asked him. He shook his head. "I've never seen it like this."

I probably caught ten trout that day, nine on a broken pole. What a great feeling.

On a side note, I don't think I'd use rooster tails again for trout, in spite of my success. My father is a fly fisherman and he uses single hooks with no barbs. This made little sense to me until I caught my first trout. Unlike bass, they're gentle, soft fish. Their mouths are far too small to handle a nasty barbed treble hook.

Anyway, sorry for the lack of pictures. But I can guarantee my camera would have ended up on the bottom of the Caney(!). I do plan to buy a Coosa soon.

[Reel Tune]

Sounds like a great trip with a couple mis-haps. Stuff happens, that's why I don't buy any casting or spinning rods over $200. If I can't afford to break or loose it I don't buy it. The Coosa is a great vessel for the waters you were fishing, and another thing you might try is getting out and wading to fish a particular area thourally, just make sure you pull the kayak up on the bank far enough so i the water comes up it dosen't take your kayak without you. Some rod floaters might be a good investment also for a little while.

I'd be happy to take you out again on the water, just let me know when.

[TNtransplant08]

You can always pinch the barbs down with a pair of pliers.

Sounds like a great time despite the troubles! Don't feel bad, my first trip out in my Coosa I lost a rod too. I was running a faster part of the river, with the rod in one of the reward facing rod holders. When we got out to take a break next, I was like "where the heck is my rod!?" Best I can guess one of the low hanging trees plucked it form the holder. Oh well, it was an Ugly Stick and at least they're cheap. I'm more worried about the nice Quantum reel I had on it... =(

The better part of the story is that I had taken that Ugly Stick because two weeks earlier a buddy and me took a canoe all the way to Kingston Springs from Nashville on the South Harpeth. During that trip, I broke 2 rods!! I figured on my Coosa trip I should bring the Ugly Stick so I couldn't break it. But then I loose the damn thing.... ughh.... Stupid trees.

I learned some valuable lessons from that though. If your rod is in those reward rod holders, fasten them in with the bungee behind the seat! Or better yet, use the outboard rod stagers with bungees.

[riverrat09]

Some days the river giveth, other days the river taketh away.

[bd-]

I agree with the advice above - de-barb your rooster tail with a pair of needlenose pliers.

In the alternative, Rooster Tail does make a single-hook version of its spinner.

bd

[Alphahawk]

Originally Posted by Doc Marshall

Hey Folks,

Two weeks ago I rented a Coosa on a Friday when I had the day off. I'd previously tried out one owned by MidTNKayakAngler, so I felt pretty confident that I'd be fine going it alone.

For someone who's only familiar with the Harpeth and few warm Tennessee lakes, the scenery and ice cold water of the Caney were a nice surprise. I brought along two poles, some rooster tails, and a sandwich made with Benton's bacon. The river seemed mostly deserted.

Standing was no problem for me, and the maneuverability of the Coosa in running water made casting a breeze. I caught my first Caney trout (a brown?) while standing. What a joy. I'd never caught anything on a rooster tail before so I was taken completely by surprise.

I did, however, have some problems with the rod stagers. At one point, I reached for a light action pole at an awkward angle and it SNAPPED. When I turned to check it out, I knocked the other pole off of a stager with my leg. "It'll float" I told myself, but it sank like a bag of nickles. Ernest Goes to the Caney.

So there I was, half way into my trip, with one broken pole. I enjoyed the remainder of the ride and resolved to continue fishing with the broken pole. I could still cast.

An hour later I landed at the pickup site and brought the Coosa to shore. The pickup van was nowhere in sight so I waded into the river and began casting. BAM! I caught trout after trout! I couldn't believe it. Almost ever other cast was fruitful. Mostly rainbows.

A fly fisherman nearby was having the same luck. "Is this normal?" I asked him. He shook his head. "I've never seen it like this."

I probably caught ten trout that day, nine on a broken pole. What a great feeling.

On a side note, I don't think I'd use rooster tails again for trout, in spite of my success. My father is a fly fisherman and he uses single hooks with no barbs. This made little sense to me until I caught my first trout. Unlike bass, they're gentle, soft fish. Their mouths are far too small to handle a nasty barbed treble hook.

Anyway, sorry for the lack of pictures. But I can guarantee my camera would have ended up on the bottom of the Caney(!). I do plan to buy a Coosa soon.

You asked the guy if it was common to catch that many Trout on the Caney...well if they are not generating me...my son...my nephew and great nephew...and several other Trout Magnet users often have catches anywhere from 100 to 200 fish in a day. Yes there have been days when we were skunked but they are few and far between. The Trout Magnet is designed to hook the Trout in the upper part of the mouth and it does that over 90% of the time with no damage. When we start catching that many we sometimes will flatten the barb down to speed up the release. We all use 2# test line with a 2# test fluorocarbon leader...it does make a difference. Someone made this video of Ed Krech on a 3 day wade on the Caney. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArUIVh1eJpE I am getting my kayak room ready now for the Coosa. I too worry about losing rods as I have flipped before and know it will happen again.

Regards

[GO-OKFISHIN]

Been there, done that! You will learn quickly that nothing floats! I use leashes to secure anything and everything.