The weather here in Ohio has finally taken a turn for the better. It has been a long cold winter to this point and there has been a great deal of ice and snow on most of the local waters. A delightful mid-February thaw has melted both the ice and snow and began the annual burning desire to find fish with my fly rod.The weather was a balmy 45 degrees with plenty of sunshine and a light breeze.
I quickly tied a few of my favorite mid-winter flies and took the twenty minute drive south to Clear Creek. This is a nice drive even when the fishing is poor. This is as wild as we get here in Ohio. I have never caught many big fish here, but is always cures my cabin fever and gives me the feeling of being someplace more wild and exotic.
I dressed and rigged up and soon heard the familiar sound of water swishing through my legs. It is a sound that never gets old and continues to take my back to the days of my youth. It is a sound that reminds my of my grandmother and her love as she watched me fish along the banks of her stream in Pennsylvania. A sound that reminds me of the two miles walk to the same stream as it flowed in through the mountains of West Virginia. I miss those days and those fish.
The shade of the valley made me wish I had worn gloves. The fishing this time of year is slow and methodical. It is more about slogging the water than it is the wispy, delicate casts of the dry fly. It will suffice in quenching my thirst for fishing.I did manage to see quite a few midges hatching, but not enough to bring anything to the surface to feed.
I soon hooked and lost a nice holdover right at the surface. The winters rust was disappointing. After finding a fisherman in my favorite run, I moved back up stream and caught my first brown of the year. A giant 6" fish. Good things come is small packages.
The rest of the afternoon found more people and a few chubs. Most of my favorite places had people already fishing there. I will be back to explore again soon. It was a beautiful day that afforded me the pleasure of fishing once more.
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