| It was one of those fishing trips. You know, | | | | crashing off the bows of their boats (hmmm, |
| everyone catches fish but you, you loose six | | | | are they just rubbing it my face, or are they |
| or eight of your most expensive streamers, it | | | | tenderizing the meat?)Questioning my decision |
| rains buckets, and you sink the boat. That's | | | | to become a fly fisherman, I head over to the |
| right; I got skunked at Steamboat Lake over | | | | dock to pick up my 5 year-old son and a fresh |
| Memorial weekend. | | | | styro of night crawlers. I'll let my son fish |
| | | | the meat before I crumble and load one up on |
| I was determined to show those meat huckers | | | | the spinner myself. Surprising, no luck with |
| (worms and power bait) that a well chosen and | | | | the meat either, and hear comes the rain. I |
| strategically placed fly was as effective as | | | | throw my arms up and ponder my karma activity |
| anything a conventional fisherman could load | | | | of the past year. |
| on a hook and hang under a bobber. Well, no | | | | |
| such luck, I got stomped. | | | | We charge for shore as the lake turns to |
| | | | white caps. The rain and lightning moves in |
| The fish were rising like mad on a midge | | | | fast. Did I mention that we got the boat for |
| hatch, and I threw everything in the box at | | | | free and have no clue what to do in the rain? |
| them. I could swear I saw a hefty rainbow | | | | We pull the boat up close to shore near our |
| nudge my fly to the side to eat the natural | | | | camp, outside of the no-wake zone. We leave |
| laying only centimeters from my damn near | | | | all of our gear and head for the soggy camp. |
| perfect replica. As we watched the group of | | | | |
| 12 year olds add another 18" fish to their | | | | Well, apparently it's best to leave your boat |
| stringer (full loaded, I might add) I decided | | | | in protected cove in the no wake zone. From |
| it must be a lake thing. I don't fish lakes | | | | what we could tell, our boat was hammered |
| often. | | | | with 300 to 400 gallons of water from the |
| | | | waves and boat wakes from boaters rushing |
| I usually have good luck with a streamer in | | | | back to the dock. Yes, it sank in 18 inches |
| faster moving water, so I head for one on the | | | | of water. I didn't realize a boat could sink |
| several tributaries hoping to get the boat up | | | | in 18" of water! All of our gear is floating |
| far enough to make a make a few good casts. | | | | around the shore. The gas tank and gear which |
| No such luck, here comes the wind. Determined | | | | included an Orvis waste pack with hmmmm, some |
| and frustrated, I proceed to lose several of | | | | 500 plus flies. Every box any fly had to be |
| my best streamers in the dense shrubbery | | | | opened and dried on the dashboards of our |
| surrounding the mouth of the creek (can't | | | | trucks. |
| retrieve them since the current is too strong | | | | |
| to get the boat any further up the creek). | | | | We bail the boat, load the truck and haul our |
| | | | soggy gear and crippled egos back home. |
| On the way back to camp we are passed by a | | | | |
| couple of boats with stringers of fish | | | | Next memorial day, it's back to the river!!! |