LMBs Coming Back Into the Picture

Goodbye #20s. Hello 2/0s.

Goodbye 6X. Hello 10lb test.

Goodbye delicate presentations. Hello splashdowns.

Goodbye lifting the rod tip to set the hook. Hello lifting the rod tip, with attitude, to set the hook.
Rip it.

Goodbye 4wt. Hello 8.

Goodbye sips. Hello flushes.

Goodbye nettin’ ‘em. Hello lippin’ ‘em.

Goodbye four-hour drives to the mountains.  Hello five-minute walks to the pond.

Ten to the river.

The Photo Bin - February 2011

Feb 19th:  Haw River Crawdad (a Hawdad?) in his Element.

February typically sucks for the casual outdoor photographer around here. Yes, the Piedmont does get an occasional picturesque snowfall or, with luck, a pre-spring warm spell that fools a few photogenic blooms. But, for the most part, it's simply drab.

So I consider myself lucky to have this trio of orphan images to share this month. You can always count on sunsets and mountain streams to save the photographic day. Even in February.

A New Net - Revisited

Dear Mr. Bigasstrout,

Where were you?

Last week you ravaged my fly, gave me the fin, and broke me off. The very least you could have done is allowed me a rematch today. I got up early. I made the long drive once again. I was ready. Same hole, same streamer, fresh tippet. 3X.

But no. You had to send your little stocker friends to fight your battles. You coward.

Sincerely,

Mike

Let Us Go Down to the River to Dance

Let us go down to the river to dance.
To the river to dance! To the river to dance!
Let us go down to the river to dance.
And there you can be my love.

We can walk Temple Creek ‘till it reaches the stream.
We can walk Temple Creek! We can walk Temple Creek!
We can walk Temple Creek ‘till it reaches the stream.
And there you can be my love.

A New Net

3:34am.  I sit bolt upright in bed and replay it one more time.  I see the flash.  I feel the ping.  My heart sinks, yet again, as it had the afternoon before, and a hundred times since.

It had been a fine day, to that point.  Light morning snow flurries had given way to a beautiful, but chilly, day and the fish had been willing.  In the shallow, faster runs I’d brought to hand a couple dozen small-to-respectable rainbows along with the nicest brook trout I’ve taken from these particular waters - a fourteen-inch chunk of a fish - a day maker, most days.

The Photo Bin - January 2011

Jan 12th:  Carolina ice on holly, just off our side porch

After two years here at Mike's Gone Fishin', I've come to the realization that, as much as I like to write, it's the photos that really complete any particular post. I must admit to letting promising literary (and I use that term in the very loosest of context) ideas fall by the wayside because I don't have a good image to illustrate them. More often, though, I have a shot that I'd like to share, but no story to tell. To resolve the latter, I thought I'd start a monthly post, The Photo Bin, to trot out a select few of these orphan images, while they are still fresh.

So, here's a trio of pics taken in January. Be sure to click on each image to see them full sized. I hope you enjoy them.