Before I get to that, I tried out a new creek Saturday that is in the middle of town. I am liking it's potential for spring. It hold panfish, bass and catfish.
First cast...
Unfortunately there were also lots of these...
There was no lack of fishy looking water either. There was a foamy eddy at the bottom right of this pic that I'm sure held fish, but I couldn't get to it because of the current dragging my line out.
I caught one more fish and called it a day. I had a long drive ahead of me, and I needed to hit the road.
This next trip was all about redemption. The last time I was there, I caught one of the famed sulphur hatches the river is known for. It was most certainly a sight to see. However, I only caught one dinky fish out of the dozens rising around me.
Replay from a few months back:
Fast forward to this weekend. I needed to experience this river again. A second chance to put into practice what I learned the last time.
Almost as soon as I got on the road, there was a deluge of rain. I don't know why I was surprised though, that's standard weather when I decide to go on a trip.
I pressed on and hoped the trip wouldn't be a bust. I arrived late, checked into the hotel and tried to sleep. I say "tried" because the anticipation of what the next day held kept me awake for most of the night. No matter how many fishing trips I have been on, and no matter how small any one trip may be, it feels like the night before Christmas every single time.
I arrived to find the water dingy, but not murky, and just a little high.
First few casts produced a nice spawning rainbow. Not what I was targeting, but a nice fish nonetheless.
Fishing was slow, I hooked and lost several more nice rainbows. Finally, I felt a familiar tug on the line.
It didn't stop there...
Another rainbow to keep the variety going..
Then another brown...
After quite a few browns and rainbows landed and lost, my stomach told me it was time to eat. All of the browns were caught on this:
Hit up a local hole in the wall for a hot meal.....
After lunch I headed to another area.
I could tell some other fisherman had already been there..
Glad they practiced catch and release..
Soon after getting on the water, BAM!
Further down there were quite a few fish rising to BWOs coming off. I tied on one and picked my target.
The grassy area in the middle right of the below picture had a fish that was rising pretty consistently. I made several drifts before making one final cast. I watch him slam it that time! Cool to fish dries in February on high water. Not an easy thing to do.
As the day was drawing to a close, I admired the nice scenery and picked up maybe the nicest brown of the trip on a zebra midge.
I love these colors...
No lunkers were caught, but I bested my previous attempt and caught lots of nice fish. Total fish count was around 30. 2/3 of those were browns, which made me happy. I'll be back for sure!
Interesting...DSFK
Redemption..
