Thursday, November 26, 2015

And Now You Know

     Paul Harvey used to have his afternoon news reports broadcast over the radio.  I remember listening to them.  In particular is the memory of standing at my Grand-dad’s workbench, in the tack room of the barn, up at their farm on Lansing Avenue.  I don’t recall what we’d been working on; probably sharpening some tool so that we could cut something down after lunch.  I do remember the radio being on, and listening to the news or the story of someone whose name wouldn’t be revealed until the very end, when he would say, “And now you know the rest of the story.  This is Paul Harvey.  Good day!”
     Being six days out from having been socked with sixteen inches of snow for our first snowfall of the year, I reflected back on a few trout fishing trips that I didn’t write about in my blog this season. 
In the midst of the Storm
     The first was from a father/son trip to Marquette County, in Wisconsin, back on Thursday, July 2nd.  I actually did write about that trip, but due to the loss of the school’s camera I had used on the trip, I didn’t have all of the pictures and videos documenting it.  (Past Entry: "Thanks for Nothing")  This fall, while teaching, I suddenly got an email at school.  It was from a man living just across the Stateline in Beloit.  After a series of emails back and forth, he returned our camera that he had found on the ground after my family had left the 4th of July fireworks show.  Apparently I had left it next to where we were sitting.  After using the camera this fall to take pictures of his daughter at her school’s homecoming, he went to download the pictures, and saw my last name printed on the memory card.  When he did a search of my name, up popped my email and the contact was made.  It was a miracle to get it back, and now you know the rest of that story…
Sunrise on the Way to Adventure

Thirteen Inch Brown Trout








White Pine
           


Tamarack
Sugar Maple
British Soldier Lichen

Bankside Wildflowers
Currents on the Water
Reflections





Ripple in the Shallows

Finishing the Day

Sunset on the Way Home

















     The second undocumented trip came in the late afternoon of Tuesday, August 25th.  It was at a secret creek that I was able to get to; an hour or so before the sun set.  In the beginning I saw three really big browns in the same run.  None hit solid, but more or less played with their “food” (my spinner).  I finally managed to hook an 8” brown that I quickly released.  Later I caught a 17” brown.  I took a picture and then released this one also, after working to get it back into the water and feeling good about its revival.  Within the next couple of feet I caught two 10” browns that I decided to keep.  At the next big bend, my turn around point, I pitched up under some over hanging grass on the far bank.  Immediately there was a wake and surge, and I had a thick 18” brown on the line.  It jumped several times and was a load to bring up and into my hand.  Due to the fight and the size of the trout, I didn’t take any pictures but elected to perform a quick release.  It was a fun trout to catch and hold briefly due to its size and spunk.  Typically when I turn around in a creek, “that’s that”, and I’m finished.  This time I worked my way back to the run I started at just an hour before.  Within a cast or two I hooked into a beautiful 16” brown.  I ended up having to keep that one as I couldn’t get the hook out very well.  In fact, while trying to, I actually ended up breaking off one of the barbs on my spinner.  With the time and stress on the fish to do this, I didn’t feel right releasing it. This still wasn’t one of the big browns I had originally seen in that run, as one of those jumped at a fly while I was working on the 16 incher, and sounded like someone was chucking firewood into the creek.  It was a lot of action in a short amount of time, and now you know the rest of that story…
     The third of my unwritten summer trips came on a tributary of the Sugar River on Sunday, August 30th.  We had had a lot of rain the previous day or so, but I felt like I’d still be able to hit some potentially deep bends, and possibly wrestle some big browns out as the autumn spawn was quickly approaching.  The wading, as it turned out, was difficult and deeper that I’d expected.  I spent more time hiking in and out of the river, or walking past sections that would have been above my waders, than actually fishing.  When I did have an opportunity to get in and start pitching my spinner ahead to dark pools and grassy overhangs, my pole busted.  This was the second pole I’d broken this year (this one right at the sleeve joint).  Either it’s the cheaper poles, or catching bigger fish periodically on these ultra lights; or just plain bad luck.  It happened on a light snag.  When I lifted my pole it simply bent in half as the fiberglass tubing gave away.  Luckily the sunset was beautiful.  It was a lot of work with not a lot of payoff, and now you know the rest of that story…










     My next unwritten outing came on Monday, September 7th; the morning of Labor Day.  I fished my “Home Creek” for two hours and only caught a few chubs, and saw one massive snapping turtle, before I finally managed to catch and release my first little brown trout.  (Past Entry: "Home" Waters)  Soon after that first catch I did have one decent hit, but I didn’t set the hook well and I lost him.  I decided to back out and have my morning lunch on a log that had once fallen across the creek.  When I had eaten and rested a spell, I worked my way back to where I had just missed the brown trout.  By the time I’d had my fifth cast, I had him back on.  It measured at 14 ½ inches.  I quickly released him after a picture; the least I could do for stalking him.  It ended in that way, as a good morning, and now you know the rest of that story…








     
     The last of my unwritten outings came as an end of the season run, with my Dad, on a creek we’ve had marginal success on, but always feel as though it has potential.  It’s not too far from the Kettle Moraine State Forest.  We went on Tuesday, September 29th following a day of teaching.  We listened to each other, made an attempt at casting, but probably spent more time simply catching up and letting each other talk, than concentrating on what we were doing.  Apparently the trout realized it and took the night off too.  We did not see or catch any sight of one the entire night.  The evening was beautiful, however, and so we fished and talked until dark.  We even found a different section we could fish in the future, and shared some of our knowledge with a young man who also was fishing that same creek as part of his end of the season run.  Sometimes the season isn’t about the fish, and now you know the rest of that story…







                 
     Five unwritten trips.  Five trips previously undocumented.  Five trips with all of the highs, lows and mundaneness of trout fishing.  It makes the season what it is, and now you know the rest of the story. 
     Happy Thanksgiving; and we do have much to be thankful for! 
See you along The Way…

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