posted by Alex on Dec 5
Sure, I may make a spontaneous trip to the Salmon River for Winter Steelhead, or possibly to the Battenkill to dredge streamers for trout. But the reality that I’m not gonna fish for about 3 more months has set in. It hit me as I drove past one of my spots on my way to work yesterday morning. The river is mostly iced over. The ice is paper thin, but it’s there. A few funky shapes of open water still remain, as well as a strip along shore where a small creek flows in. That’s where the geese like to hang out. There were probably about 50 of them packed together in that small trickle of open water near the bank. With the overcast skies and river icing over in the background I couldn’t help but want to take their picture, maybe tomorrow. Three more months.
Is there anything more hypnotizing than a hovering subvaria spinner? I remember my first Hendrickson experience in early April on the North Branch of Michigan’s Au Sable River. They came off in heavy waves during a sporadic BWO hatch and the Brook Trout went nuts for them. The spinners seem to have a preference for willow trees and on nights when the temp stays above 50°F you could count on a nice spinner fall. If it was a cool night it meant I was going to be late for work the following morning. Four more months.
I can feel the warmth of the Spring sun on my face as I’m sitting on the bank of my favorite Bluegill pond. My kids are on the other side of the peninsula playing with globs of sea weed and snails when my Foam Skunk gets sucked under. THWICK! Bluegill are incredible fish. Pound for pound. Can you imagine trying to land a 21″ Bluegill? I lift it out of the water, sliding my hand over it to compress it’s spiny dorsal fin and pop the hook out. Before releasing it, I admire it’s size, somewhere in the 8″ class. It swims away as I grab a Dr. Pepper out of the cooler. I love that first chug from an ice cold pop. Five more months.
Wet wading is probably my favorite way to fish for Smallmouth Bass on local rivers. There’s one spot where I can start out working Clouser Minnows through the pocket water. Move down to a deeper run where bigger streamers and poppers are the way to go, and then further down to a huge, knee deep flat where in mid-Summer they sip tiny mayfly spinners and smash drunken caddis near the bank. Six more months.
December 7th, 2007 at 11:48 am
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