Beautiful Blue Cold Morning

I like fishing with Van Stacey and this morning we did go a-fishin'. 

We traveled to the north wilderness - a place I am favoring this season.  For the first fifteen or twenty minutes in the water, neither of us got a bite or if we did we couldn't see it.  The sun had just broke the horizon. 

I decided it was time for a pattern change.  I took an olive streamer and handed Van a black.  The action was on then.  I'd catch a trout, Van would catch a trout. Van would catch a trout, I would catch a trout.  It wasn't exactly every single cast... but close. 

 

After another thirty minutes in the river, I realized I had dressed way too lightly especially in the area south of that little beer belly pooch I own.  My legs went numb so I waded out of the river to the bank.

 

Standing on the bank with legs shivering and teeth chattering, I watched Van continue to pluck a blow here, pluck a bow there, pluck a bow now, and pluck a bow then. 

 



I didn't have to look to tell that our guides were freezing up.  I could hear it when Van would make a roll cast and feel it when I would cast. 

 

After another twenty minutes Van waded out of the river to try and thaw his frozen digits.  We stood there on the bank stomping our feet and rubbing our hands with hand warmers so we could go back in for more... fun... I think. 

 

Van went back in and started catching trout again.  The sun was about an hour and half high in the eastern sky.  I was beginning to feel the warming rays so I stayed out for another ten minutes or so. 

 

 

Finally I waded back in and started taking a few more trout.  Action continued for a short while but slowed to the point it was time to go elsewhere and we headed downstream.

 

Downstream, Van took position off the falls and caught a nice bow on his first cast.  Then, he turned around and fished upstream and caught another bow.  I had took position standing on a rock near the bank and it was here the action turned really sweet for me.  I had a good stretch where every cast resulted in a bow. 

 

Soon, Van's brother Marty and Uncle Jack would join us and I asked them to take the position on the rock.  I went downstream and caught one more bow. 

 

The trout seemed to go off the bite by late morning or near noon.  I bid Van goodbye at around 11.35 a.m. and begin to walk out of the wilderness.  He was going to stay and fish with brother and uncle.

 

I hope the trout cycled back on and went on the bite again.  When I left Van on the river, we together had brought about 60 trout to hand.  A good morning.  Cold early, but warming nicely when I was walking out.