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| Spring is coming. |
Signs of spring are showing, but I jumped the gun, which is something I often do. I expected what I got, but I wanted the full experience after a long absence from the game. I wanted to fish real water today for wild trout. I wanted to get the kinks out, but I also wanted a chance at a day maker, especially if I was only going to catch a couple fish for all my driving, and prepping, and bundling up. No felt waders, but I even carried the wading staff today, prepared to get myself into position for a shot at the glory. I caught a good fish, one of them, but it was the wrong species. This is a wild fishery, but rainbows do go rogue and get wanderlust, so the bows that get in here are big, mature ones. They think they’re wild, at least. A wild brown the same size would have been nice, but I will take what I got today under the conditions. No wind to start, but the so-called warm up coincided closely with yet another blow. I feel like we are living in Kansas as winter dies down. Dry and breezy! Despite the challenges and the lack of fish, I felt like I fished (and waded) well and was ready when opportunity knocked.
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| One, and a holdover at that. |
I fished all the right water for this time of year, even the stuff on the other side of the crick. I did not take a water temp reading, but it was cold. There was still ice on the bends that typically get little sun, though mostly in the stagnant puddles. The flows were perfect, maybe low for this time of the year, but perfect for fishing. I saw one bug, however. One. I bet they will get moving this week with a warm-up in the forecast, but I had today to fish, so I fished. I was not alone in needing to get out despite less than perfect conditions. I even ran into a dude center-pinning before 9 AM. I am usually the only mitch out there on winter mornings. Of course, there were a handful of other visitors later in the afternoon when the air temperature approached 50 degrees. By then, we were all contending with the wind, with gusts to 30 mph. The bow took a caddis larva on the dropper tag below a big jigged bugger that I was using for the anchor (and hopping around ever so slightly in the slack pockets and eddies I could reach). I fished a couple different stoneflies for a while too and only had one other tentative hit while tightlining a short run of moderate current.
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| Good to be back, even if a bit early. |
A lot of hiking and wading for one fish. Nevertheless, it was good to be out on a favorite NEPA creek at this time of year. A lot more water will be available to fish once Opening Day arrives, but I will not likely return until late April or early May. We need rain, as the punch from any snow melt is gone, long gone. It crossed my mind to visit a nearby DHALO with jumbos recently dumped in, but I guess this was actually what I needed today because I was content to catch one fish. I believe I have at least an afternoon on Friday and one day this weekend to catch a few more. Life remains busy, but longer daylight hours and nice weather will make it easier to sneak out. I have a few college-related weekend things coming up with the boy, like accepted student days, but I know I will miss all this time with my son when he leaves us this fall! Maybe he’ll pick a school near prime fishing? We will know soon enough.
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