Kiyotaki at Benett Spring, MO

by Jimi H.
(Benett Spring MO)

Went down to Benett Spring today to try and catch a trout or two. I have been creek fishing for months now and missed the fight that you get from a good old trout. I took 4 rods with me (so much for simplicity) Tenkara USA Iwana, Fountainhead Caddis Fly and two Kiyotaki rods # 21 and # 27. I brought the tenkara rods because I was unsure about hooking a bigger fish on the Kiyotaki.

The water was high and completely blown out due to flooding. Dirty deep water is never any fun and I could see that hardly anyone was catching fish. I decided to stick with the #27 as it is my new go-to rod. I was using a sakasa that I tied this morning. I have never caught a trout on a kabari fly but decided I was going to give it a go. After about 10 casts I hooked a nice 14 inch rainbow and the rod handled it like a pro. I would even go so far as to say it was easier to land on the #27 than it would have been on the Iwana. Something about the softness of these little rods makes even bigger fish a breeze to bring in. Second fish was another 12 to 14 incher landed with no problem. I only had an hour to fish and caught 3 in fast muddy water. The last one I caught was a nice 3 inch fingerling that I would have missed on a bigger rod.

I just can't say enough about these little rods. My only afterthought is that I should have tried a killer bug, on a day like today the bug would have really slayed them.

“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten” - Benjamin Franklin

"Be sure in casting, that your fly fall first into the water, for if the line fall first, it scares or frightens the fish..." -
Col. Robert Venables 1662

As age slows my pace, I will become more like the heron.