The End of One Season..

Preludes the start of another..

Sat April 27th, marks the official open season for Trout here in Ont, Can. With some reluctance I pointed the Silver Goat East & headed to private waters I'm fortunate to have access to. Given the amount of vehicles on the road leading into the property (which..god I love this part) is patrolled by Doberman's & Sheppards during the weekend) to help keep the over-enthusiastic/non-members out & to the North of the property. I'm glad to have a small piece of solitude every year to fish on this weekend.

Since Jan I've become increasingly despondant towards the whole C-Pin set-up I usually favour. Instead taking the Spey gear and looking for aggressive fish on the swing. I think I've taken the 'Pin gear out a total of three times since Jan... Even still my soul wasn't into it & was taken more outta convienance then anything else.

I must say this about that however... There's nuthin like the tug of Steel on a swung Spey/Mini Spey/Tube Spey pattern. Aggresive takes, airborne displays & typical torpedo runs are becoming rather addicting as opposed to watching a float meander along. Nuthin wrong with the latter however, just becomes a little monotanous after 20+ yrs of doing it. That and the throngs of would-be floaters, who know jack-shit about etiquette, is enough to turn me off of this gig at times. Nuff said..

The day went well. Overcast, light drizzle early morn w/some fog, 3-6" viz, perfect conditions really. Doing the typical close in then extending further out presentations through a long deep slot/trough, then moving 5' down is relaxing. A quick dram of the 'Phroaig every-once-in-awhile to take the chill off & the world seems proper at times....

Fifteen feet from my starting point (that's three moves down stream for those counting) and the Lady Caroline has taken hold of the first customer of the morning. A big initial run, coupled with a few acrobatics and he's landed & released in under five. A nice clean droppie of 8Lbs rocketing off like nothing ever happened. By the time I've reached the end of the trough, I've rolled 3 more and landed a 3Lb Shaker for my efforts. Time for a change and slow meander back to the top & allow the others to work through.

By mid-day I'd accounted for five Steelhead, rolled another 1/2doz & managed to kill the better part of a flask of 'Phroaig. It was time for the customary luncheon that one of the members puts on & a lil slap-rapping about fish caught, missed opportunities & the talk of the season soon to be ended. All-in-All not a bad way to kill 3/4's of a day really.. Yup no pics (well I have 'em)m but I'm not into posting hero shots, so I'll wait to get decent pics in the Fall..speaking of

Until Fall Steelhead Season... Nuff Said..

Gearing up for some Hog Brown'age on the Grand R. for the next while. Been out once, but a dip in barometric pressure from the previous day, high flows & low water temps made for a dismal first outting Sunday. 'Sides I'm not into the Micro shit that comes off in early hatches (BWO's & Midges). One I can barely see them on the water.. Two I can't tie the shit on to 8X tippet in short order, so usually I just say fugg it...

Tommorrow's "Round 2" we'll keep ya posted...

Gone..