Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/769056
It didn't take long for the rest of the group to notice what I was doing. "Carly, why are you pedaling backwards?" Mom called somewhere off to the left. "Because it makes it easier to . . . " I didn't get to finish my sentence because a big rainbow slammed the fly. The hook-set was nearly automatic, as was the fish's instant, violent response. She leapt high into the air before charging straight toward me. I accelerated backwards, almost subconsciously, as I played the fish, my rod, body, and kayak all working in unison until the big trout's brilliant coral sides and gill plates flashed just shy of the water's surface and I gently guided her into my net. She was pristine, a perfectly proportioned 20-inch rainbow. I flashed Dad a huge grin, and he mirrored my expression with the side. I had three tentative strikes within the first ten minutes but somehow couldn't manage to set the hook. "Getting any hits?" Pat asked a few minutes later. "Yeah, but I'm having a hard time getting enough leverage to set the hook." Pat thought for a moment, and then looked across the water at me and my kayak. "Can that thing go backwards?" I knew immediately what he was thinking. "That's genius!" I called. "Yes, it can!" I gave a quick tug on the plastic loop at my feet labeled "Reverse" and felt the propulsion fins flip 180 degrees and lock into place. As I started pedaling, the kayak began effortlessly gliding backwards, my fly line straightening out in its nearly imperceptible wake, my rod held low and parallel to the water. "We'll need to fish deep," Pat explained as he noted the lack of activity on the surface, so we rigged up our rods and reels with sinking lines and Wooly Buggers. I was using a 9-foot, 6-weight Sage Xi3 with a Billy Pate "Salmon" reel from Tibor Reels. While technically a light saltwater rod, the Sage Xi3 was well-suited for the lakes with its ideal blend of weight and sensitivity. Philip and I each launched a Mirage i11S while my parents and Pat started out in jon boats. I had never trolled with a fly rod before, but the concept seemed simple enough. I stripped out 30 feet of fly line as I eased forward onto the calm surface of the lake. I set an easy pace, one I could maintain for hours using the silky-smooth action of the MirageDrive, holding the rod out to the S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S • 167 The author caught this big rainbow by backtrolling her Hobie Mirage i11S across the waters of Bobo Lake. The award-winning 27,000-square-foot lodge is surrounded by more than a dozen lakes and 12 miles of streams in the New Mexico high country.