Home Waters

With the holidays present it's been pretty easy to get lax.. visit with friends family and over indulge at an alarming level. We're still enjoying very light snow condition for this time of year. Have had a couple 'fishable' days [temps that would have kept guides from icing or at least been minimal] that should have been capitalized on.. but weren't.

Today I managed to laze around all of the morning before looking at the thermometer again.. 39*F! Trouble being that a good brisk breeze had picked up, not good on the wide open marsh - estuarys of my favored haunts only a stone toss from Lake Michigan. Thinking of the 3 hour round trip drive.. even my weak math skills brought things into focus. Jumping into some cloths & tossing gear in the truck it would, at best, be after 2:00 p.m. before getting the first cast off. Plan B was implemented.. fish the home waters. This is no small placid trout stream, she's all river, just lacking runs of potomodrous fish.

The winter of 2011 is the first one since regulations and general season have been in effect [unsure what year that would have been] that I could legally fish this huge section of water. The pull of 'connected' tribs is always strong but there are some very good residents -mostly Browns- living local. With dry flies and stripped streamer I live for and on this water ..spring summer and fall.. seldom going anywhere else.. no need.. but never the chance to fish it in winter.

It seemed the drive had hardly started and I was there. A bit of a bushwhack in to where I'd mentally slated to start. All kinds of tracks.. none of them men. I love this remote area and feel unbelievably fortunate to have grown up and continue to live here.

Casting the little CND was going well, I fell into a rythem and stepped down the run covering some very good looking water. Not a nip lip nor half hearted grab to show for it 40 minutes later and at the tail. My guess; it was just a touch quick paced for holding.

More bushwhacking across a couple flats into the head of a nice run, just below a sweet split, surface heavily broken by submerged rock. Quite a stretch of straight before turning into a bend. I'd covered most the straight with again no pulls. Just into the head of the bend as I'm daytripping casting on auto pilot I get cracked.. manage to put in a decent set and am now hooked up. Fish is instantly airborne once, then twice. Probably about a pound and a half but I'm unsure just what variety. Cast was long and my eyes that never were that great are less now.. couldn't define. No matter it was off. Guessing a Rainbow purely by the instant acrobatics and snow white clean belly. I've seen plenty of Browns go ariel but not really in same fashion.

I start wondering about the hooks barb, or lack of. I'd crushed it as soon as knot was in place. A few more swings and I'm right into the 'gut' of the bend, theres a little soft spot on a midstream seam where the fly slows and all but stalls. I'm giving it the slow teaser strokes through there and sure enough it gets blasted HARD. Whatever it is is weighty.. the big wide head shakes reverberate up through the rod right down into the grips! Fish is just sulking mostly while I try to get on the reel. he makes a sudden run at me and I strip hard but no avail.. he's gone. This hurts, that was no 18" fish.. I'm getting my tail kicked! Having second and third thoughts about crushing that barb. Getting down into the tail of the bend something grabs on as I began stripping in. Feels like a minnow in comparison to that last one! As he comes in he turns into a decent little Brown, very healthy and fat. Good signs. He was even kind enough to hold there near the rod while I fumbled for the camera.. the fly had fallen out again ..lol.. Not sure what to make of that.. I've always enjoyed very good luck fishing crushed barbs. Sun was dropping below the ridge so I called it a day with the one to hand. I'll be back on it though.. there are some BRUISERS here ..lurking & hungry.