What Can Brown Do For You?

So I met my friend John at the river today for a bit of winter trout action. It had finally warmed up to the point where the mucus did not instantly freeze on inhale but still cold enough that the feeling in my feet did not return till half way home. The water was low and clear today and the fishing was a bit tough so we had to work for our fish today. Yes… yes…. I know… I have been a bit spoiled lately.

Today however was not without some adventure. To begin with, I decided to make a river crossing through a riffle that didn’t look all that fast or deep…. I think I miscalculated a bit because I was a half step away from being swept down a very cold river. (not my finest moment today). One of the things I love about fly fishing are the moments you get to laugh out loud at yourself… your miscues, flubs, near misses, and near victories. I hooked into a beautiful rainbow today and lost it mid-battle. I saw it and estimated it at 18″. I let out an expletive that was so loud I could hear 3 other anglers laughing at me down stream. I must admit… I laughed too.

On a high note today, I landed my largest trout to date, a beautiful 20.5″ brown with a nice fat belly. I had to try to net him 3 times before I could get the 20 plus inches of trout to fit into the 24″ net! He ran me across the river… down the river and then finally back to my net. At the end of the battle, my adrenaline was spiked so high that my hands were shaking and had trouble taking a decent photo…. or maybe that was the cold?

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