On 2010-09-16 08:15:45 -0400, "Bill Grey" said:


"D. LaCourse" wrote in message
news:2010091517255816807-davplac@aolcom...
Tuesday, 14th:

No fishing today. There was hard rain after breakfast and I chickened
out. Instead I stayed in the cabin, kept warm with a nice fire in the
Franklin stove and finished Red November, a book by W. Craig Reed about
the inside secrets of the U.S. and Soviet sub programs, including some
that I was involved with - Holystone, Barnacle, Clarinet Bullseye,
Boresight, and some others.

It rained off and on most of the day. We went for a bike ride in the
afternoon after the rain and ran into a couple of guides that are friends.
They said it was not a very good day on the river, and friends staying at
Lakewood confirmed it. With the hard rain and hard fishing, I was glad I
made the decision to not fish.

Wednesday, 15th:

No rain, but some serious looking clouds. Pretty chilly with a north
wind. After breakfast I made it to the dam with some friends and fishing
was not good. Again, I threw everything at the fish but not one strike
for over an hour. Finally a nice brook trout of about 14 inches fell prey
to a size 18 brassie. A few more followed, including a 17 inch salmon
that did not break the surface while I was landing him. Just as I was
about to net him the hook came out of his jaw and fouled itself in the
leader along with the split shot. What a mess. I cut off the brassie and
the hook was bent. I finally gave up trying to untangle the mess and cut
off the leader, stuffed it into my waders and put on a new one. First
cast with another size 18 brassie and another salmon hooked up. But, like
his hefty brother before him, he too slipped the hook just as I wad about
to land him. Checked the hook and it was bent. It shouldn't have been -
the fish was not that big, so I tied on another brassie tied with a scud
hook. The next fish, a fairly good brook trout did not bend that hook, so
I can only assume that the two brassies tied on straight hooks had a
defect in the hook. The brook trout was beautiful in his fall coat,
bright orange belly with bright green sides. I took pictures of the trout
from this trip and will post them later.

Some doofus tried to fish 20 feet upstream from where my friend George was
fishing (and catching fish). George told him to please leave. The guy
made a face and reluctantly moved on. George changed fishing spots about
15 minutes later and this dude rushed to the vacated spot. The guy must
have figured it was a god spot because George had taken about 5 fish in
the past hour. However, this doofus took none in the hour that he was at
the spot. Sort of makes you feel good when that happens. The fish abound
in this river. It is not where you fish, so much as how you fish.
Presentation, presentation, presentation. George continued to catch fish
at his new spot.

I finally took my first fall; slipped while carelessly moving over some
big rocks and landed directly on my tail bone. Hurt like hell. I sat
there for about five minutes until another fisherman came over to see if I
was ok. I'll be sore in the morning.

Only six of us in camp now, with two leaving in the morning. The Polish
girls have returned to Poland and college, so the place is very quiet.
Maureen is the waitress, while Whit is the cabin boy bringing us enough
wood to be comfortably warm during the day. Three blankets and a furry
dog names Jenny get us through the cold nights. One of my pet projects
(no pun intended) is teaching Jenny how to start a fire in the stove about
0500 hours. So far she has been a lazy beast, staying in bed until *I*
make the fire. Ingrate!

I have a good bottle of red wine for dinner, and then it will be to bed
early. I am very tired.

Dave


Wow! you do know how to live the good life:-) ..... .Log fire, three
blankets, a bottle of wine and a cosy labrador - sounds abolutely idyllic.

BTW are you allowed to keep any of the fish you catch?

Bill

Yes, Bill. You are allowed two salmon (I believe) greater than 12
inches. I have never killed a fish on this river, but others do and
have them for breakfast.

Good day today.

Dave