Time to let her go....

Today was the last day for this year on the river I love....and I got skunked.
That is not a very nice way to end what turned out to be another wonderful season of fishing but only a moron would complain.
Besides,..I have come to realize that I am prone to fits of piscine uselessness for whatever reason. They come and go and to be honest they neither surprise me nor bum me out. I just except them as part of the Steelhead package and roll with it.
So be it.
I wasn't the only one who took it on the chin today... in fact the river was waaayyyyy too crowded with dudes like myself who probably should've stayed home if catching fish was they only thing they were after.

Catching fish wasn't the only thing that I was after. There is way more to this than that.

Morin caught fish.
That POS.
Even the Sausage Man caught a fish....on a Purple Nurple no less.
?
WTF
:o)
...and move on.
Sausage Man offered me a drink of his scotch on the river today and who was I to refuse???
.....that kind gesture may have just saved his life.
lol
If we could only talk him into releasing a few of the fish he catches.
Oh well...
I was thinking today that maybe I should lighten up on the old school meathunters. Truth is they have very few winters left and have been harvesting fish like this for years....and still the fish come in.
One more for the smoker.....
UGH.
Looking back on the season...

This ..I have decided was my coolest fish of the year and was ironically my first of the season from my home court.
The breathable waders and the wader liners were perfect through even the worst of it and they made the hike in sooooo much easier.
The wading boots however are shit and will be returning to Cabelas in the new year.
I have decided that Suffix line is not for the pin.....I still can't argue with good old Trilene XL for performance and value....Once again a victim of option anxiety.
My Islander is my go too runner matched up with my shitrat Rainshadow 13fter.
I got skunked twice this year and each time I had my Mykiss with me....superstitious????.....a fisherman??....
Keep an eye on ebay.
Probably the best piece of fishing equipment I own is my car which saved us a ton of dough this year....
If the gas prices keep rising I may start riding a horse to the river.
Anyhoo...
I realize that I am rambling.....
The blog is still fun and I hope that it is not offending anybody or damaging any fish populations. With any luck I will be able to post a Pacific Coast Steelhead when I get back in Feb.
Happy New Year to all you friggin clowns...
<>< out.

Merry Christmas...

...to all you Fish Nerds /Blog freaks!!!

Hope everybody is healthy and happy over the holidays and into the new year...should be an interesting one for this household.
;O)
...with any luck I'll be posting at least one more fishy outing before my trip to the West.

This weeks trip...

It's a busy time of year and the only day I could squeeze in for fishing this week was today.
The water was low and the forecast called for freezing rain....but it was considerably warmer than last weeks misery.
I have been having slush nightmares.
For a change today I felt like I was fishing well....normally I feel like a buffoon out there.

Morin was chained to his desk so I was flying solo again. It suited me today anyway.
Hiking through the snow is one helluva workout and my legs are still cramping up.
Maybe I am an old geezer???

I had a pretty cool thing happen today.
The snow was falling hard and I was really concentrating on my float through this one stretch of water that I love to fish. The takes were very subtle and you had to really eye your float or you might miss a 'wiggle'. The opposing bank was covered with snow and the reflection on the water made seeing the float at the end of the drift difficult. I would strain my eyes so hard that they would begin to water...
Fun stuff.
Anyway....I was kind of in a Steelhead trance when out of the corner of my eye I noticed some movement. I slowly looked up to see a deer right across the river from me.

Cool.
I tried to get my camera out quietly enough not to spook it but ...it moved quite a distance away.
I still managed a few photos.
I love stuff like that.
As it turned out there were 6 or seven of them...all does by the look of it..moving together on the opposite bank.
Solitude.

Peace on the river.
Deep breaths of fresh air....
It is almost disappointing when the float goes down ..
Almost.
;o)
My Father-in-Law went without a Deer on this years hunt. They hunt about 10 kms from where we fish. I am not sure if I will share this little tale with him considering that I could've hit these deer with a rock.
lol

Back to work tomorrow.
I have been away from my team for almost two weeks..

... I kinda miss those knuckleheads.
Tired......Dog Tired...
Where is my Scotch?

'Nuff Said..

Slush fest today....beautiful walk through a post card pretty winter wonderland....but I was so cold I didn't even think to take pics...




That just about sums up the water conditions.

Oh well ... I don't mind taking it on the chin once in while..lol

The day wasn't a complete write off...

And tomorrow I will sleep in...ya

"There must have been some magic in...

...That stinky fishing hat they found"



Sarnia finally got some today snow and my kids were thrilled. They are calling for rain...heavy at times this afternoon though.





I don't like Frosty's chances.....but mine are pretty good!!!!

<>< on.