The Long Hike

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.