TR- Last Day 2009

Yesterday was the last day of the Wisconsin inland stream trout
season. I got home at 6:30 am and got about 4 hours sleep before
getting up at 1pm. I meant to nap when i got home so as to be a
productive worker last night but I never did. And now instead of going
to bed I'm posting this. Oh well...

I started out by fishing a stretch that has become my traditional
last day beat.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...MG_2117a-1.jpg

Nothing much happening when I got there about 2pm. Tried several
variations of dry and dropper, with minimal luck (a few missed
strikes). Finally a few fish started to rise. I happened to have a
Pass Lake on (big surprise there, eh?) and a few of the risers thought
it looked o.k. to them. I was hoping to get a bright, pre-spawn fish
but I had a fisherman work up behind me making me feel crowded and I
ended up thinking that this speckled but not especially vibrant fish
would have to do for my last-fish-of-the-year picture.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...MG_2125a-1.jpg

Not wanting to share the water I left. Having a couple of hours before
I was due home I drove around looking for an empty pull out. I was
surprised when I found one at a fairly popular spot. Walked down to
the River and was confronted by fish rising all over the place to
BWO's. I still had the Pass Lake on and made a couple of casts before
switching to the small stuff. Took two, including this old black
mouthed, hook jawed campaigner. Bright orange belly with a shredded
pectoral fin and a missing mandible, he probably won't make it to next
Spring but hopefully he'll contribute that beautiful DNA of his to the
River one last time this October.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../IMG_2128a.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../IMG_2134a.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../IMG_2135a.jpg

Afterward the fish started to ignore the P.L. and I switched to a #22
Fuzzball and caught a handful of small fish before my hands got too
cold to comfortably hold the line and rod.

And that was it.

Another season left behind me.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../IMG_2120a.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...MG_2138a-1.jpg


HTH

Geo. C.