Chapter 58 Day 48 - Trout Season

They Cared Not To Look My Way

Today was kind of a cut-up or diced day.  Usually on Sunday morning it's work for me and today was no exception.  After about four hours I was pretty well done at work sitting at my desk finishing some papers.  Looking at the calendar there, I realized there is only six more days to that big day that takes many of us months to pay for. 

Owning a disposition of putting things off and being a charter member of the procrastinator's club, I forced myself today to get that one special gift I had yet to buy. 

A southerly course was plotted that would require about a thirty-five minute voyage.  Throwing anchor at the brick and mortar storefront, I soon entered Eskimo Joe's and quickly acquired the object that had become the latest fancy of Miss Carol's affection. 

Back at the prairie home, the overcast sky had given way to the warming sun.  There was no chance of making Blue River today, so the waders went on, camera was grabbed, rod stowed in the cargo hull, and it was off to see what the carp of our local creek were doing. 

I would visit three different pastures at the creek - the Courtyard, Honey Hole, and Worm Pool, and nary a carp would I see.  Actually, not seeing any carp at any of these pastures told me exactly where the carp would be.  They would be at the pasture known as Well Springs - a deeper pasture with undercut banks. 

It was back to the prairie schooner and off to Well Springs where, upon arriving, find the carp waiting... just as thought.  There was a good community of carp - all suspended, none grazing. 

Oh, they're there... suspended... just sitting pretty.  

I tie on a worm pattern called San Juan Sweetheart's, which is basically two San Juan worms tied on one hook.  Time after time I offer the Sweethearts to the carp putting the fly right in front of their face, but, they cared not to look my way.  I know these beeves have to graze sometime, but, that sometime wasn't the time I was there today.

Carp by fly this winter is most likely going to be a crap shoot.  I figure it will be mid or late March until they get really interested in grazing the pastures again.

In the short time on the creek today, I did discover that the nine inch rain we received in one night washed a bunch of trash into the creek.  Trash like the piece of PVC below.

PVC can probably stay in the environment for like a gillion years or something and it has no place in a creek.  I grab onto the junk and drag it up the hill to the trash container maintained by the city.  The city guys are pretty good about picking stuff up there, so I figure they'll take care of it. 

The further downstream I go, the more trash I find.  Trash like plastic bags hanging everywhere. 

I hate plastic bags.  You see them hanging on barbed wire fencing, cyclone fencing, trapped in underbrush, captured by greenbriar, hanging in tree limbs, and submerged in our streams. 

Plastic bags should be abolished.  Now, this is coming from a guy who works at a mercantile store that dispenses probably close to a half a million of these things a year.  At the mercantile store, I've pushed earth-friendly reusable shopping bags for years now and we've sold a ton of these things.  However, the problem seems to be that people simply can't remember to bring their reusable bags and they end up getting more plastic bags.  All those darn bags end up somewhere you know. 

I've never been much for mandates, but, do think I would support a mandate to not use plastic shopping bags.

Yep, upstream is downstream and all the junk we find upstream will end up downstream unless we get rid of it. 

So, I saw a lot of trash today, and saw a community of carp, but, the carp were not interested. 

Thank goodness for those pretty little Rainbow trout.  Will hit Blue at the next chance.