I had hemmed and hawed all day yesterday as to whether or not this free Thursday should be spent fishing, or doing the things around the house that need to be done. Until a phone call at 7:30 A. M., I thought I was taking the, ahem, adult route this time. But my buddy Tim had other plans, and when the missus walked by with the thumbs up sign, I caved like the right side of the Purple's offensive line.
I had my mind set already on where I wanted to fish. Tim had the river right, but not the same stretch I did. That was fine though, it was his first time out since his Idaho steelhead trip, and I get out, umm, well enough. Tim could have this one. We headed for a popular Pierce County stream that can be Wonderful this time of year. We were pleased to find our chosen access site empty. We both needed to be back in Saint Paul by 4 P.M., yet we still wadered and rigged up with little urgency.
Today was a perfect day, in the sense it was cool, dry, and made you feel good about what we have around us to explore and enjoy. It was also very windy, which is a hack fly casters nemesis. A guy like Tim just calls it a challenge. Yet the bugs were out, with the birds swooping over the stream to catch them as they emerged. A bald eagle circled overhead, which I took to be a good sign. The lack of rain had the stream low and gin clear. Stealth, which is not a word used to describe me, was going to be an important tactic today, and the shadows from the high noon sun were not going to help.
Tim spotted a nice pool that he must have been pondering the whole walk in. I left him there and hiked another half mile or so downstream, hoping to fish upstream to rising trout. A large rise is what caught my attention, and marked where I would begin. It seemed to me there was a small gray caddis hatch going on, but there was something else. I don't know if they were March Browns, or some kind of crane fly, but large brownish-reddish mayfly looking things were coming off pretty good, yet the fish were not keying in on either, Stubbornly I shortened my leader a bit and tied on a Hare's Ear with a beadhead. First cast brought me a nice little brown trout. Soon I had two of the prettiest brookies I had seen all year. Now I was happy, brook trout may be my favorite fish. I did get a couple photos, but I have not figured out the new camera yet, so I muffed that one.
Eventually I met Tim upstream. We both fished a nice riffle and run, finding fish rising a bit more emphatically. Tim took a couple on a dry caddis, and I had a few missed hook ups. Realizing time was no longer our friend, we hiked back out and headed home. I am glad I got out. I really enjoyed my new waders that my good friend Bill recently gave me. A very generous guy, that Bill, I mean Bob...
Take a kid fishing, soon.