jammu and kashmir state is blessed with natural beauty like no other place in the world is an understatement.once again i set out on my quest for seeking out trout in remote locations in my state.
the destination is going to be kept secret for various reasons.its been a sad time for many places here due militancy,terrorism,bad governence,ethnic problems,religious issues etc.but the situation is improving now.many places cut off are opening their doors once again.
the dept. of fisheries has been a major moral support to such affected places.they continued there work even in the worst times by employing people,creating awareness and bringing the trout to their streams.but even they fail to monitor the menace of rampant poaching.
anyway after a gruelling 7hr drive i checked in to my prearranged govt. guest house.places like these dont have much to offer in terms of modern amenities but was surprised to find a running tatasky connection.ah i wont have to miss that golf tournament afterall.
next morning asst. inspector fisheries came knocking at 7.we were on the road at half past.its a 40 min climb in a jeep to the stream(the road in the entire journey is barely motorable).ah what a beautiful one too.couldnt wait to cast out.
tied on my teal and green with a bead headed black gnat on the dropper and let the line fly.an hour and 4 rainbows later the ghillie suggested a different location upstream.a brisk 30 min hike and lo one of the most picture perfect pools i have ever seen.almost immediately i wanted to run back and fetch my waders.but as we all know cant waste flyfishing time.so decided to chance it from the bank.to get the perfect presentation and distance i needed to air the line two or three times and land it 40 yards or so.but the constraint was the bushes and the rock behind.so i decided to wade without waders.all soaked till my waist and gained 10 yards into the water i let it fly.got the cast to drop where i wanted to and stream did the rest.got a take from something big and aggressive.the modern high carbon modulus fly rod made a hollow echo sound.i use a .40mm hard mono leader in the rocky himalayan streams.it was being stretched to the limit.the beast would not reveal yet.i had no control of my apparatus.IT was controlling it.to make matters worse i slipped.now am completely drenched and holding my right hand out with the rod trying to upright my self with a big rainbow at the end of my line.i think the commotion and confusion came to my rescue as the trout turned and started heading in my direction.i steadied myself and seized the oppurtunity to gain control over the beast.a few more thrashings from the big tail while i slowly made for the bank.it tried making a run two or three times again but i had him no more than 10 yards away from me.the ghillie obliged with the net and i landed an absolute beauty of a fish.all 5lbs of it.the weather moved in surely and i packed for the day.the rain and sunshine combination that day reminded me of that old saying"theres a pot of gold at the ends of a rainbow".
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