January 28 and February 4, 2018 – A Couple Short Sunday Trips Close to Home

Well, not much anyway...

I am still busy with life this month, sometimes overwhelmingly so, but I was able to sneak out on the last two Sundays, just to keep my head right.  I was feeling the effects of no fishing last week, especially, but Tami’s surgery appears to have gone well based on the two week follow-up appointment with her doctor.  She is in a hard cast for another 12 days or so, and then physical therapy begins.  Stir crazy herself, she wants to drive herself for coffee now, but we have agreed not to tempt fate and future injury!  With my hometown Eagles on their way to becoming America’s next America’s Team, and the Silver Fox and wife graciously hosting the playoffs and Super Bowl at their house, there has been plenty of social time, but not much alone time, which is what fishing is for me sometimes.  

Post osteotomy, now in a bright blue hard cast (they were out of black!)

I got out alone on Valley last Sunday, but I wasn’t alone.  The weather was too nice, or at least warm, so I had the distinct feeling I was fishing behind someone all morning.  Rain that day did not amount to much, at least as far as raising and staining the water, so despite moving a couple decent fish with a streamer, I had to settle for maybe four tiny fish on a midge.  Fast forward to this weekend, and I had a dilemma: get some needed alone time on the water, or fish with Eric.  In the end, I made the right choice and had a good snowy, icy trip with a good buddy on nearby Stony Creek that was surprisingly therapeutic if only because we tend to fish independently together!

Nice hat, I mean fish, Little Mitchard....

The little freestoner was iced up pretty solidly in spots, and it had a sheen of thin ice on a lot of slow pools that hold fish in winter, but as the early snow changed to sleet and then rain, the creek continued to free itself and wake the fish.  They were hardly hitting, exerting just enough effort to open and close their mouths on a zebra midge, but the fish were there and they were eating.  We had a 90 minute sweet spot where the water temperature must have spiked a hair, and we took advantage, landing at least 15 fish between us.  I even stuck a little stocked brookie too.  The fish that are left are mostly small, between 8 and 12 inches, but on a light rod, they were still fun—especially for Eric, who does not fish nearly as often as I do.  I also enjoyed the additional vicarious fun of seeing him have a good morning.

Brookie and midge.

As the wintery mix turned to all rain around 1 PM, we ended on a high note and headed for home.  Instead of getting to rest a bit for the Super Bowl celebration with my friends, I ran into the post-playdate pickup of Lukas’s buddy by his dad and sister, with whom I enjoy talking, followed by a visit from our Norwegian friends for a couple hours (I even ate some salted cod dish that Anders brought along), and then it was off to the home of the Silver Fox to see a memorable Super Bowl—even if one is not a lifelong Eagles fan like myself—so not much alone time there either.  While I would certainly like my home office and my therapeutic fishing by myself back, things could be a lot, lot worse, and maybe people are what Tami and I needed to get through the last few weeks, not solitude!  Well, that, and a few fish in the net never hurts either.  Another potential rain/wintery mix event is in the forecast for Wednesday, but there is also a Super Bowl parade and some work related meetings on Thursday to compete with the promise of high water streamer fishing, but who knows?  Maybe I can do it all?  It's amazing what a little fishing can do for my mental health....

He still has the touch and landed at least half a dozen under challenging conditions.