Off To See TheWorld
Mt Taranaki Morning
One Tough Fish
Hey you try focussing with hooks in YOUR thumb.
Ouch
Hey you try focussing with hooks in YOUR thumb.
Ouch
Stuff happens when you go fishing.
After seeing Ty and Meghan off we crossed back to the North Island and are now in New Plymouth with our wonderful friends The Spencers. It's Hot. As that Kiwi lady told us "it is so hot the sun could burn a hole in ya". So after lunch Mike and Lynn suggested we go for a swim in the Stony River swimming hole behind their house. What beautiful water. We had a lovely afternoon swimming around this big fishy looking hole that provided me with a nice brown 22 years ago.
In the evening I snuck down to the hole with my flyrod as it was getting dark and although I didn't catch anything I thought I saw a fish feeding at the bottom of the hole. This morning I was back at the hole with both my flyrod and spinning rod as the sun rose over breathtaking Mt. Taranaki. Wowser.
Due to a huge flood in 2008 there are no rainbows in the river anymore but Mike thought he had heard that a few of the sea run browns might be in the water. I started hucking one of Tyler's itty bitty pheasant tail nymphs through the pool and on my third or forth cast slammo, I had a fish on. Not for long as he popped off my leader then began leaping all around the swimming hole trying to shake the fly that was still connected to him, but not to me. Wow, I was THRILLED to have hooked another Stony trout but he had looked to me like a rainbow as he jumped in the early morning light. His antics had obviously ruined the hole for fishing and my flyrod needed retying so I just picked up my spinning rod and flicked this little Rapala lure out three or four times when WHAM, here we go again, another fish. As this Rapala has treble hooks all over it I felt that if I didn't screw it up I probably could land this nice fish. I worked him up into the headwaters of the hole and was really surprised when he revealed himself to be a rainbow. I needed a photo! I got him up on the bank and snapped a picture and then planned to put him back in the river while I set up my camera, tripod and self timer. I grabbed the fish, who still had the tailend treble hook in the bottom of his mouth, and was about to toss him in the river while I set up the photo when the fish went nuts.
Shit Happens.
The other treble hook was suddenly buried in my thumb. Deep. Two Barbs. I stared in horror as the fish thrashed wildly about, causing "discomfort" to my thumb.
Shit Happens.
Somehow I was lucky enough to unhook the fish and chuck him back in the river. I started to pull out those hooks. No Way. No way on earth, they were BURIED in my flesh.
I went back to the house, woke Sheryl who started to work them out. Bad idea.
So it was off 27km to the emergency room where they deadend my thumb, cut one hook free from the treble and could not push it through with hospital tools. I think someone went out to their car and got this huge, nastey, rusty, pullers and finally got out the "easy" hook. The second we feared was into the bone so next it was x-rays. Good news, no bone so the nice lady doc tried some more then called for her "boss" as she called him. Soon Rambo Doctor appeaerd, took one look at my impaled thumb and said, "I'm more aggressive", dark clouds began to roll over my life as he tied this heavy surgical string to the hook so he could get a grip on it. He told me to hold my hand still and press on the table. At that point I looked away and with a mighty yank he gave it his best and just like my first trout this morning, he broke me off. His surgical thread broke as I saw stars. I think this failure sorta pissed him off as he began to moan, grumble, and grunt as he got some other big tool from the tool box. I just couldn't watch as this time he grabbed it tight and tore it out. His last comment was, "I think that'l be sore as you now have a lot of tissue damage."
Ouch.
Tonight it really feels just fine, so I think the morning in the e-room was worth it.
Thank you New Zealand ACC. Cost = $0
And thanks again to the Stony River, sorry I couldn't fish you all morning.
After seeing Ty and Meghan off we crossed back to the North Island and are now in New Plymouth with our wonderful friends The Spencers. It's Hot. As that Kiwi lady told us "it is so hot the sun could burn a hole in ya". So after lunch Mike and Lynn suggested we go for a swim in the Stony River swimming hole behind their house. What beautiful water. We had a lovely afternoon swimming around this big fishy looking hole that provided me with a nice brown 22 years ago.
In the evening I snuck down to the hole with my flyrod as it was getting dark and although I didn't catch anything I thought I saw a fish feeding at the bottom of the hole. This morning I was back at the hole with both my flyrod and spinning rod as the sun rose over breathtaking Mt. Taranaki. Wowser.
Due to a huge flood in 2008 there are no rainbows in the river anymore but Mike thought he had heard that a few of the sea run browns might be in the water. I started hucking one of Tyler's itty bitty pheasant tail nymphs through the pool and on my third or forth cast slammo, I had a fish on. Not for long as he popped off my leader then began leaping all around the swimming hole trying to shake the fly that was still connected to him, but not to me. Wow, I was THRILLED to have hooked another Stony trout but he had looked to me like a rainbow as he jumped in the early morning light. His antics had obviously ruined the hole for fishing and my flyrod needed retying so I just picked up my spinning rod and flicked this little Rapala lure out three or four times when WHAM, here we go again, another fish. As this Rapala has treble hooks all over it I felt that if I didn't screw it up I probably could land this nice fish. I worked him up into the headwaters of the hole and was really surprised when he revealed himself to be a rainbow. I needed a photo! I got him up on the bank and snapped a picture and then planned to put him back in the river while I set up my camera, tripod and self timer. I grabbed the fish, who still had the tailend treble hook in the bottom of his mouth, and was about to toss him in the river while I set up the photo when the fish went nuts.
Shit Happens.
The other treble hook was suddenly buried in my thumb. Deep. Two Barbs. I stared in horror as the fish thrashed wildly about, causing "discomfort" to my thumb.
Shit Happens.
Somehow I was lucky enough to unhook the fish and chuck him back in the river. I started to pull out those hooks. No Way. No way on earth, they were BURIED in my flesh.
I went back to the house, woke Sheryl who started to work them out. Bad idea.
So it was off 27km to the emergency room where they deadend my thumb, cut one hook free from the treble and could not push it through with hospital tools. I think someone went out to their car and got this huge, nastey, rusty, pullers and finally got out the "easy" hook. The second we feared was into the bone so next it was x-rays. Good news, no bone so the nice lady doc tried some more then called for her "boss" as she called him. Soon Rambo Doctor appeaerd, took one look at my impaled thumb and said, "I'm more aggressive", dark clouds began to roll over my life as he tied this heavy surgical string to the hook so he could get a grip on it. He told me to hold my hand still and press on the table. At that point I looked away and with a mighty yank he gave it his best and just like my first trout this morning, he broke me off. His surgical thread broke as I saw stars. I think this failure sorta pissed him off as he began to moan, grumble, and grunt as he got some other big tool from the tool box. I just couldn't watch as this time he grabbed it tight and tore it out. His last comment was, "I think that'l be sore as you now have a lot of tissue damage."
Ouch.
Tonight it really feels just fine, so I think the morning in the e-room was worth it.
Thank you New Zealand ACC. Cost = $0
And thanks again to the Stony River, sorry I couldn't fish you all morning.
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