And it feels like Monday.....
We opened the camper this weekend.
That was the best feeling in the world to walk into it and start putting stuff away and getting ready for the season. Above is a shot of the camper. I love this camper. Sleeps 6 comfortable and is a lot of fun.
I do not have the entire thing set up yet. My father should be up there a few days this week and finish up what i have not yet.
One of the best things is at night when we fire up the campfire. We have an old rim as a fire pit and we put the folding chairs around it and sit there for hours and bullshit. Above is a shot of the pit.
Opening day of Fishing season......
I went with just the basics. Just a pole and a few pieces of tackle. And the determination to go catch something. I left the camper and headed down stream to find something. The water lever is descent this time of year bit not where it should be, but good enough so that even the low area's are deep enough to cause a problem.
I headed off the the farthest point and started throwing out. All was good. I got a Pike in one of the deeper pools, hook a nice large mouth in one of the access streams and also wound up playing with a few Rainbows. After a few hours of playing around I was all set to just star heading back up stream and call it a day. UNTIL.................
I saw HIM..................
Right out of the corner of my eye...
2 feet deep....
Sitting in the sun.....
NO, Basking in the sun......
Just casually waving back and forth in the same little spot in a fairly stiff current. He was just sitting there waiting for his lunch. It was about 10ish and I would have thought I would not see anything like him out this time of the late morning. I actually sat there and watched him for a little while. Should I try and get him or should I let him just hang out and enjoy the day? After all I was a day late (It was Sunday) and he had survived opening day Saturday.
F-It. Let's play. If he is going to just sit there and taunt me like that I am going to have to take a shot. So, Find a nice spot about 5 yards behind him and toss the bait up stream and let it float back to him and let him open wide. I did not have my fly rod on my at that point and he did not look like he was too interested in them. So i was just using a worm on a hook and a 4ft ugly stick. I can not tell you how many time i casted off perfectly and and landed about 5-7 feet in front of him nice and softly and it just floated by him. Again, and again, and again, AND AGAIN....
When you get to this moment in your life when you see something in front of you that you really want and you try everything you can to land it and It just does not take the bait there is a few things you can do.
Keep trying,
Give up,
Or keep going till you win.
I do not give up that easily............
(This is like golf for people who can't play golf. I hate putting. I can never read the green right. Go left, go right. I just hit the f-ing thing straight and hope for the best. Fishing on the other hand.. I happen to enjoy and do very well.)
So I took a set on the side of the river. I spoke to him and told him if he let me catch him I would not kill him. I would not eat him. I would not take to my neighbors to kill or eat him. I would put him back. Unharmed. And back in his original spot.
It took him a while but i finally got threw to him. After about another half and hour he finally have in a took the bait. It was a perfect cast. It landed about 8 feet in front of him and caught the current perfectly. Started rolling down street. He saw it, flinched and BANG!, hit it with everything he had. I caught him good on the side of the jaw and knew i had him. He put up a great fight.
Here is where it get interesting...............
He made a bee-line for the log in the center of the stream and actually wound up pulling a buggs bunny around the log. I had to move quick to get the line untangled and i moved a little too quick. I lost my footing, I lost my balance. I did not, however, loose a grip on my pole. I wound up a little more than thigh deep in the river. But, on the brite side I did manage to get a good angle on the log and wound up untangling the line. So I pulled myself back to shore and reeled him in.
TRUE TO MY WORD.........
I let him go....................
But I had a little conversation with him while I was taking him off the line. I told him I would be back and that he would see me again. I am sure that I will see him again. I am sure I will see him again before the season is over. He was as beautiful out of the water as he was in it. I was just sorry that I did not have my camera on me or someone did not walk by to see him. From the tip of his lips to the tip of his tail he was from my index finger to my elbow. Not too shabby for just messing around on a Sunday afternoon.
More pictures will follow....
When the leaves come in and we get the camper all set up I will snap off some more shots and let everyone see the surroundings that I get to see every weekend.
As long as the weather is good this weekend and I have my mountain bike out of the shop I should be able to snap off some pretty good pictures this weekend. Now that I know how to post them you will be seeing more.
PEACE...........................
DJD
