The Rewards of Sticking it Out...

15 degrees, 30mph wind......Cold. There's no other way to put it. And if you don't have some stuff to keep you warm you are quickly asking yourself what I asked myself recently...."Am I crazy?" Of course, you can still find yourself asking that if you are clothed well!

Cold was the word on Thursday Nov 26,2008 when I met Carter Davenport and his friend Patrick Williams for a fishing trip at 0'dark thirty here in Greensboro, NC. We rode up to the mtns, and we knew it would be cold. We made a quick stop at a Walmart on the way up to renew Patrick's license and to grab some gloves and hand and toe warmers. And man was that a good idea.

It was bitterly cold. The first hour or hour and a half was fishing on the ice trimmed edge of the stream, casting into 32.8F degree water that had some small chunks of ice floating in it from an obviously cold still night of low temps in the teens. But I encouraged the guys (and myself!) and assured them that better temps and weather and fishing lay ahead of us, even if not for the first hour or two.

And like clockwork it began. The second place we put in we got almost immediate results. Patrick scored a couple of fish, a couple of good ones, 15-16" fish and one that broke him off (his beast of the day, it seemed like a big fish- - -a large rainbow that departed adorned with two of my favorite winter flies). But that's okay, I'll take losing flies to a big fish over losing them to a tree anyday. Carter soon followed. Like a dozen or so fish in the next 45 minutes, one of them being this brute of a rainbow that must have weighed 6lbs or more and was one of the heaviest bodied rainbows we've seen this year. I must say, and I think the guys would agree, after some fish and that trophy all of a sudden it didn't matter much how cold it was.....Bring it on.

We fished a while longer, caught a few more fish, and had a hot lunch- -chili and trimmings, hot chocolate, and coffee streamside, warming ourselves inside before heading upriver to fish several more places.

The rest of the afternoon was phenomenal. Patrick scored a "Grand Slam), a brookie, brown, and rainbow at least 15" long, as well as between 30 and 40 trout on a day that had most anglers at home tying flies or sitting by a fire. Not us, we had business to do.

Carter also caught at least that many fish. Just proved to me once again what I have believed and practiced for years. That is sticking out some less than ideal conditions to have a chance when a big fish decides to eat. That happened today, and along with 60 or more fish that all decided eating was a good idea too.

Its just as I remarked to Patrick, ".....are we fools for being out in this?....." to which he enthusiastically exclaimed, ".....well yes, fools for trout that is." Well said.

Good things and treasures are found in and through some very unusual circumstances. .......
Whether I am crazy or not.......!