So I made tentative plans to fish on Saturday leaving my options open. I always enjoy messaging with Shebs at night when we are both dreaming about what the next day lays in store for us. I can talk for hours about fishing but often have difficulty talking for five minutes about just about anything else.
Usually I make plans to head out before the sun rises but yesterday I had some physical fitness testing at school at 0900 hours which set me back a few hours. Overall I was pleased with my test results and still felt like I had enough left in me to take on a good long hike.
Oftentimes before venturing into the great unknown I worry about something bad happening and nobody knowing where to look for me. I sent Brevitz a quick text before I started just so that they would know where to start searching should not show up for dinner.
Shortly after texting Nick I rode my bike down to my starting point and locked it up to a sign post before making my descent into the lush valley. I was excited to see what the next 4-6 hours lay in store.
I cast my streamer into the deep spot next to the bank. Numerous trout tried to chase it down until one of the mightiest of them clamped his jaws onto it after which a fight ensued.
After making several wild jumps out of the water during the fight the beast was finally subdued. This was quite the battle on my 7 and a half foot 4 weight Ross Journey Fly Rod. "Not a bad start to the day", I thought.
I continued upstream staying in the creek to avoid tresspassing. I made a mental reminder to keep the pace up so I could be sure to finish before it got dark. I had three miles of water to cover.
I happened upon this sign which meant I could walk the bank for a ways.
This section was pretty void of fish so I happily frolicked along the bank.
This little logam riffle complex held a few scurrying fish.
Approaching this deep bend my heart beat fast because I could tell it was going to be good.
Besides this trout I pulled about 5 or 6 more out of that bend. I like to memorize the dot patterns of every trout I catch just in case I ever catch them again it will be like reuniting with an old friend.
I imagine the whole scenario would go something like this.
I came to this relatively calm bend where I could see trout rising every 15 seconds or so to Caddis. I simply couldn't help myself so I proceeded to catch 5 or 6 on the dry fly.
So much fun catching fish after fish at will on the dry fly.
By the time I reached this bend the rising had ceased and I figured it was time to test out my latest creation. I call it the Pink Squirrel Leech.
What a champ the Pink Squirrel Leech turned out to be.
What a beautiful spot this was.
And another trout falling victim to the temptations of the Pink Squirrel Leech.
With a few pinpoint casts a pulled two browns out of this micro cut bank. If the cast landed too close to the bank I would snag and too far away the fish wouldn't chase. I am oftentimes impressed with the fly casting skills I have and look forward to the times when I can help others discover the joy of being a fly fishing maven.
Looking back downstream after a 5 hour long, 3 mile hike with over 30 fish caught.
On my way home I received a call from Micah and Drew. They were on their way home from a day of fishing and invited me to come to a barbecue at Micah's place. It was fun way to debrief with friends after a day on the water. If you still want to read more about fly fishing check out the blog that Micah and his wife Abigail have created. You can find them at The Driftless Flyer.
Phil mentioned to me today that my blog could use an update since I haven't posted anything in a while. One thing I decided when I started this blog was that I would never start a post out by apologizing for not posting in a while. As if I am sorry for living my life undocumented; what a farce. I do however recognize that I haven't posted in a while and would hate to have my fans worrying about me. Rest assured I have been able to get out from time to time.
First things first. I want to thank those who came and visited me at the Great Waters Fly Fishing Expo. From this photo you can see how seriously I take my fly tying.
I recently received my 2017 trout stamp in the mail. I look forward to this event every year.
Now let me take you on a walk down memory lane to some of the times I went fishing and didn't get a blog post out.
When Eddie met Drew and Micah
Eddie Rivard blogs about fly fishing. He lives with his dog Foxy in New Brighton Minnesota.
I started this day solo
A 1 A, Trout Stream Avenue
Trout were feisty chasing my leeches
Didn't bring my net so I landed them on the beaches.
Hiked to a remote section of the Rush. It was well worth it.
I always catch fish on the Olive Rubberlegged Bugger. No wonder why I tie so many.
It was a nice stain this day.
A slightly larger specimen.
Gotta love the selfy!
It was nice to catch a Brook after catching about 15 Browns.
Later on I met up with Micah and Drew. These guys are the next generation of awesome. I've been googling ways to make my camera focus better so in photos like this the fish would stay in focus no matter how far Micah sticks it out.
At what point does the size of your net go from a plus to a minus. To each their own I guess.
It was good to fish with Drew again and to fish with Micah for the first time. I'm looking forward to fishing with them again.
When Eddie fished with Ryan
I try to fish with Ryan every chance I get. He is just such an awesome dude. I will try to add more words to this tomorrow. :)
Grand Slam
Silver Trout
Brown Trout
Brook Trout
Striped Trout
Kreelex to the rescue!
The Mission
Unlike the Caddis the Blue Wing Olive Fly is not meant to resemble any particular insect. It's just an attractor pattern tied to resemble many things ranging from ants to hornets.
