Today I landed the first steel of 2014 on the Methow. . . wild fish, about 6-7 lbs. . . great fighter. . . on the bead dropper. . . in the sunshine. . . with only a shirt and my wading/rain jacket (and waders, of course.)
Unreal and beautiful day for early January, although since I was wading in front of a large ice shelf and walking with my hind end rubbing along the ice so I didn't end up any deeper than I already was so my toes were a little cold as if I were wading in ice water--which I was.
The hardest part was when I muffed a cast and ended up with a snarl--and no brother to untangle me! I had to tie on a few hooks (lost to the gravel bar or ice shelf behind me) but that was easier than the snarls. I appreciate Tom & Rick more than ever for taking pity on my weird vision thing and helping me when they are with me, though I suspect Tom cuts off the end of the hook on my fly since he knows I can't tell if its there or not. I seem to miss a lot more strikes when I fish with Tom.
Sorry I forgot my camera so no fish photo, but I do have two witnesses. Fished today with Garn Christensen and Sue Morrison and a wonderful day it was. Sue used her handy-dandy mesh glove to grab the fish by the tail and permit me to ever so gently remove the hook and tell the fish "thank-you".
I enjoyed fishing with Sue and Garn and hope to again soon!
Saturday, January 11, 2014
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