December 30, 2024 – Who You Callin’ a Mitch? The 2024 Farewell Tour Was a Successful One – SEPA Blueline

A peek of blaze orange and some other colors.

After Eric and I fished for 6 hours and, according to his onX maps, covered just over 4 miles of woods and water, he went out with the shotgun at dusk and got himself a doe.  He is mostly an archer, and the Silver Fox pointed out that it was a gut shot based on the grainy photo, but I still think I am the mitch today!  I was home taking a nap while he was walking back into the woods, probably running on water, deer jerky, and the rush of a good day of fishing (not to discount an outdoors hall pass from his lovely wife).  It was a good day for both of us.  We got a significant-enough amount of rain in the evening after a couple light rain days in a row, so the crick was in its banks but full and stained.  By the time we walked into the first spot and were fishing by 7:50 AM or so, I would estimate that we had about 12 inches of visibility.  Probably a streamer day, I thought.  That did play out as expected, but I did get one decent one on a pink worm and Eric fooled a few with the egg.  We were both fishing small Eric-tied buggers on the mono rig, and at times I wish I had chosen to streamer fish the traditional way.  I even had the other rod in the ‘Ru this morning.  However, the mono rig is versatile.  Even though the fish rarely hit a dead drifted bugger and wanted it moving on the swing, it was warm enough to fish without gloves and not only strip but also strip set with the 15 lb. butt section of the green mono.  Plenty of fish were caught, and a few of them were small stream beauties over 12 inches long, which was a nice change for me from earlier in the week.

One of Eric's better ones.

Some dudes bowhunt this land, so we had a little blaze orange with us and were hoping any fellas in the tree stands were also sporting some.  We saw no hunters, but we did see a lot of dead animals.  We saw a drowned raccoon near the first hole, a big dead turkey vulture or raptor, and the carcass of a buck who probably met his demise last year.  The decay did not seem to affect the wild trout, who ate well.  They had the typically slow and nippy tendencies of winter fish, especially as the day wore on, but they were slowly chasing and nipping at meat, as I noted above.  Once we dialed in the pattern and the water type that held feeding fish, we proceeded with confidence.  That confidence also helped us both stay patient and stick a couple of better fish in deeper holes that did not fit the pattern.  I mentioned the egg and the worm because we were trying to work as a team and offer a couple options.  In a few cases, I moved a nicer one with a bugger, and then Eric got him to eat an egg—or vice versa.  We did not even discuss this, but we fish well together and make good complementary choices naturally.  I believe that we both consider our fish on this creek our fish.  What I mean is that if we were alone, we might have had a chance at all of them but working as a team we share in the success, keep each other honest, and even offer a little coaching when needed.

Doubles, eggs, buggers, even the san juan worm.

Fishing was good for the first 90 minutes or so, and then we wasted a little time with two deep holes that have winter all over them.  My gut was telling me that before the huge warm-up the day before, these seemingly money holes were probably fringed in ice at best, covered in a thin layer at worst.  They were also much dirtier than the moderate riffles where active fish seemed to be set up and looking for a meal.  We may have squandered some prime time fishing this deeper water, but we retooled and made the most of the pattern we established early.  We fished until about 2 PM before turning back, but things got more challenging after 12 PM.  We had way more short hits—that could mean fish are getting pecky or that we had been out and fishing hard for a while and were experiencing diminishing returns.  Changing weather was a factor, as well, with winds picking up and a dry chill returning to the air.  I think it was a little of all of the above because I definitely missed two fish after lunch that I should have had.  Contrary to conventional wisdom about winter fishing, I have fished the winters for so long that I am never surprised when wild brown trout act the way they would in any other season.  Sun gets high, midday approaches, and they shut off for good long while.  Remember that when someone tells you to sleep in and fish from 10 AM to 2 PM in the winter like a mitch!

My best, one of Eric's best.

Eric wanted to be back in the woods with a shotgun by 3 PM, and fishing had slowed considerably, so we made an aerobic trek back to the parking spots around 2 PM.  We were satisfied with the morning’s proceedings, and even if he didn’t have plans to hunt, we may have come up dry until 3:30 or 4 PM when the magic hour begins (sometimes).  Even with the year of the drought nearly behind us, I still clocked 65 trips in 2024.  I will take it.  It was a challenging year.  Not only were flows at record lows, but the striper run that I thought would keep me busy into the third week of December fizzled after the first week of the month, and then there was a premature cold snap to end the season.  I go back to work on Thursday and Friday, but I definitely made the most of my winter vacation despite being sick for a week too.  More rain on Wednesday night, so never say never for a first fish of 2025 on January 1.  The new license and trout stamp are ready to go if I get the opportunity.

Afternoon bonus shot.  Happy New Year, mitches!