Ghost Trout. A tale to ease the Shack Nasties.

Ghost Trout
One of my favourite streams has a population of Rainbow Trout which I’m convinced have the ability to flick in and out of the Fourth Dimension at will. I have also mused that perhaps these Ghosts are from outer space on a mission to drive me nuts.
Imagine staring into a particular pool and seeing no trout at all. Then in the blink of an eye there are two perfectly transparent trout like wraiths finning their way from side to side as they feed in gay abandon on an invisible snack of what we can only assume are Nymphs.
As you turn to your buddy with a hissed “ couple down there! ” then look back to where the ghosts had been. There is nothing to be seen. The funny look and slight frown on your buddies face gives you the message he thinks you are pulling his leg. Feeling a bit sheepish you do your level best to allay his fears by insisting there are fish down there and offer a prayer to the guardians of the stream to give your buddy a break and get the ghosts to re-emerge from the Fourth Dimension.
You can see them flicking in and out of sight all the time but not so your buddy. You can tell he is not convinced there are any trout in the area you are telling him to look at. Then suddenly he lets out a jubilant “ I see them! ” closely followed by “ Where the hell did they go? ” “ Did you see them? ”
“ Now I can see why you call them ghost fish.” “ Scary ain’t it? ”
You assure him you have been seeing them all morning, and offer him first go, and suggest that as they are hugging the sand and gravel bottom. A well weighted Hare and Copper Nymph may well do the trick.
Now as you call out instructions aimed at getting the Nymph down to the fishes lie. You are continually searching for a telltale glimpse of the intended prey that now, seems to be aware that an attempt at his capture is in progress. So he starts darting about on the bottom in a random manner designed to make your buddy think your eyesight is in dire need of an optometrist’s skill.
Suddenly as the Nymph drifts through the area where the trout is doing a very active Polka. The Indicator does a little dart and your buddy is fast into a fish intent on tearing up the river in its attempts to free itself.
At last after a few hectic minutes a beautiful two-pound silver Rainbow with a soft pink stripe is eased into the shallow water and even now there is an illusion of transparency as the clean silver lines of the trout blend into the pale yellow of the sandy bottom and the ripple on the surface of the water.
“Would you look at that?” “ What a beautiful little Hen.” “ Man I think I could become addicted to these “Ghost Trout” of yours.” Your buddy says as he eases the Hen back into the current and with a “See you next time.” He doffs his hat and turns to you with a smile a mile wide that says it all.
Now I’m not sure that these Ghosts inhabit any of the other many Streams I fish on a regular basis. But you can rest assured I am always of a mind that they could still possibly be there. To the extent that I now on those No Fish days, salve my ego by taking comfort in the belief that my quarry may well have tootled off to the Fourth Dimension for a bit of R and R.