Snow Day

A couple of weeks ago I was hired to be an adjudicator for a music festival at a nearby school for their region festival. While I was there I talked to Lane's wife for a minute and she asked if I'd go out fishing with Lane so she didn't have to. That's definitely a request that I can help out with! Fishing with Lane is always fun, and I always learn something from him. With both of us being music teachers you'd think we'd spend a lot of time talking shop about our jobs, but both of us fish obsessively and have plenty to talk about our piscatorial pursuits.

As seems to be par for the course lately, I didn't really have a plan when it came to the day's pursuits. I didn't even text Lane until about 9:30 in the morning and was really glad when he agreed to put up with me joining him. I set out pretty quickly after that, hoping to beat the weather but the blizzard that I drove through persisted for most of the day. 

First stop for the day was more to check water levels and clarity, though we did manage to get the skunk off quickly. Lane started out with a Griffith's Gnat and a Zebra Midge dropper and got the fish's attention from the get-go. I had on a large Ant for an indicator and an electric green Zebra Midge for a dropper. 

I'm thinking this one will be killer when caddis start making their move

Second stop had a good stretch of water and a promising looking beaver pond that we spotted from the road. After a short hike we approached the dam from downstream and found a couple of nice spots to try. After a small fish the green Zebra turned off cold, but Lane found some willing trout with a brown Wooly Bugger. The pond itself was probably the deepest water we fished all day, but it seemed void of life. Above the pond, as is often the case, there were more ponds that held willing fish. Some had to be left alone because we couldn't figure out how to get a fly wet through all the trees and willows. Lane seems to really like this type of fishing, and I do too but a little goes a long way and I like to have a back cast now and again. 

It may not look like it, but casting was very difficult with all the vegetation

One of mine, just awesome colors

As we worked through the bush we traded off fish except when I wasted my turn by getting stuck on a log. Lane caught five or six while I watched. To his credit, he did offer me his rod but even when I finally agreed to give it a go the fish knew I wasn't deserving. These fish were stunningly beautiful, like they were still colored up for the spawn.

Glowing fish, and no, Lane doesn't have anything in his mouth

Another of Lane's fish, this one with the lucky bugger

We decided to drive upstream to another spot that Lane likes to fish but the low, clear water made fishing difficult and the best part of the day was behind us. Lane managed a couple of rianbows in this stretch and I got my last fish for the day, a small brown. It was obvious that the day was over, even if we weren't entirely ready to stop. I'm really hoping that this is the first of many trips with Lane this year. The guy knows how to fish, casts extremely accurately, and can spot fish better than anyone else I know. I can learn a lot...

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder