2023 Solstice Celebration

In keeping with tradition, I made a trek to my local stream on or about the summer solstice to celebrate the longest day of the year. I left work early and arrived in the late afternoon at my normal starting place. Double psycho prince caddis green as always. The fish came quickly, perhaps not in as high numbers as some years, but back to normal compared to last year when I barely made it out of the single digits fishing with Melinda. Had 69 fish to hand in the quarter mile stretch I normally fish and finished up well be sunset. Size was very good, 70 to 80 percent in the 8 to 10-inch range. The larger ones always seem to come from the shallows at the sides of runs, where they aggressively grab the fly in water that barely covers them. All in all a great evening, first time fishing since last year.

I was also rewarded with a mink siting in the first run I was fishing. He (she) was on the left side of the river just above me when I started. Shortly thereafter I saw him running on the rocks on the other side of the river carrying a snake in its mouth before it disappeared into the boulders alongside the stream. A little while later he's running across the rocks again, this time with a good sized trout hanging from its mouth. Neither time could I get my camera out fast enough. As I moved upstream to the next little run, I saw the little guy also heading upstream and dipping into the water upstream of me. Shortly thereafter, he was headed back down the bank with another trout in its mouth. I dropped my rod and ran down the boulders lining the stream trying to get my phone camera out and get ahead of him. Got to where I could grab a few pics before it dropped into its den again. Bad lighting, poor quality, but you can see him carrying the fish. Pretty fun to watch. This is the same stretch where a beaver floating downstream bumped my daughter Sarah a few years ago. Watch out for the mammals!

Mink with trout