The technique was unique, the result extraordinary. During a lull in the action Saturday while floating the North Platte River below Gray Reef, Joe Mendozza decided to shake things up. “I’d purchased this Borski Chernobyl fly for redfish with the intent to try it on northern pike. I just wanted to see how it would look in the water,” the Aurora angler said, describing his motive for attaching it to a sinking line. “Who knew?” The trout that grabbed it was his biggest brown trout ever, a 29-incher that’s a particular prize for a stream that holds mostly rainbows. For the past year, Mendozza has used a Teeny Tandem Line with a 5-foot sinking tip for streamers, a float-fishing technique that allows him to move a fly enticingly along the bottom for extended periods.
