Chapter 58 Day 74 - Trout Season

Slow Day In The Catch & Release

When I hit the northern part of Blue River this morning it was 26 degrees.  It should be noted though there was no wind.  So... it wasn't all that bad and certainly not January pain. 

I struck out on the trail where Michael Mercurio and Charlie Wright would soon join.  We all had high hopes, I think, that it would be a stellar day of fishing... which, it was.  It just wasn't a stellar day of catching. 

I thought Michael did well, but in his own estimation he described today as slow.  That's because Michael knows the catch & release area quite well and usually has twenty plus fish days that come with ease.  Today, it was sort of a struggle. 

Michael put me on a pool of water and bet me I would catch one before he got his rod assembled and he was right.  Had a good number of strikes and caught a couple of bows but that was it. 

When I arrived at the catch & release this morning I caught a bow with my very first cast and that led me to believe it was going to be one of those kick-arse days.  It really wasn't.

As to why the fishing was so slow today neither Charlie, Michael and especially me had a clue.  What we would discover is some dead fish.  As I walked to the top of the c and r with Charlie the first thing I spotted was two dead trout.  Later on and further down the river I spotted a couple of more.  I think Merc also found some, and below the middle he called me to a pool to have a look at something he'd discovered.

In a soft eddy was three or four trout acting lethargic.  Lethargic is the word Michael used and that's a good description.  Confused and dazed is what I was seeing in these fish. 

The second stocking took place in the c&r this past week and these may be some of the new stockers and they simply have not acclimated to their new surroundings yet.  Hopefully this is the case.

The weather turned out rather nice this afternoon, the scenery was wonderful, and the company was fantastic.  It was a good day of slow fishing. 

Michael Mercurio in the catch & release area.

Charlie Wright in the catch & release area.