Butter!

Today I ventured into the cool, dark morning with the anticipation of finding fish. It reminded me of the many mornings spent fishing in Pennsylvania with my good friend Larry. Mike and I were on the road well before first light and arrived at the river in time to watch the sun rise. It was a glorious morning with the cool air of early fall. We quickly geared up and headed for water. I was anxious and patient all at the same time.
Mike and I tied on our favorite flies and watched the water, waiting for something to happen. We worked our way through our favorite runs and riffles, but struggled early to find fish. I was enjoying the morning breeze and my time with a good friend. I was also in the midst of one of those days. You know, the days where no matter how hard you try not to, you keep screwing up.
I spent more time this morning digging flies off of snags and out of trees than I have all summer. I would snag something on the bottom of the stream only to have it come lose and end up in the trees. I have always believed that if you do not spend some time in the trees then you aren't fishing hard enough, but today was a bit ridiculous on my part.
After making a move, Mike and I were fishing below a parking lot when we heard a vehicle pull in. The door slammed and soon I saw a shadow on the water. Within a few minutes a younger man was headed over the bank to check out the river. What he wasn't anticipating was the lose gravel that took him for a ride while he lost his balance and slid and rolled frantically toward the river. The look on his face was that of a slightly scared man along with a load of embarrassment. I acted like I didn't see it while he dusted himself off and collected what was left of his dignity and headed back up the bank.
Mike thought I was being attacked when he first heard the noise and the two of us held our laughter until the man was out of sight. When he returned to the river ready to fish it was time for us to move. We laughed the whole way to our next spot. I would soon pay for that laughter.
We arrived at Macochee Creek to see if we could get some footage of rising fish. We found two or three really nice trout in their feeding lanes, but not rising. Mike decided to stay on the bridge with the camera while I crawled into position for a cast. I was almost to where I wanted and had placed my left hand on a spot where I thought there was ground. There was plenty of grass between me and the stream, but there was no ground. My left hand continued to pushed downward and soon I was rolling off of the bank and right into the water. Thankfully, Mike did not catch that on camera, but he did get me dragging my soaked body back to shore. To make matters worse, I spooked every fish in that run.
In two hours, Mike had enough footage of me to create an hour long blooper video. All I could do was wring out and laugh.I did manage to hook a really good fish as it turned on my fly and headed right for me. It was a short fight and the fish was soon gone.

Macochee creek looks amazing! The work that the DNR did here is outstanding. It has regained its classic spring creek look and I believe that it will only continue to get better. The only thing that struck me as a concern was the lack of trout found throughout the creek. They seemed to be concentrated in a few places, rather that throughout the entire stream. There was plenty of depth and cover, but very few fish outside of those few holes.

We moved again to fish some familiar water and I picked up a small trout and several chubs. The place that I hoped to fish had a couple of kids wading through it and we soon turned our attention on another section of the river. Again, we came up empty. It was getting to be time to leave and we needed to hit our go to spot for one last chance at redemption. Mike would film while I fished. He ordered me to catch something and that is exactly what I did. Moving my way slowly up a seam, I watched my fly disappear with the decisiveness of a good fish. I knew I had struck gold. The fish turned and allowed me to see his golden buttered sides shinning in the sun. It was a great fish for this section of the river. After a few quick pictures and some more video, we were satisfied and full for fishing. It was time to head home.
As always, I enjoyed my time on the water with a good friend. Mike and I never fail to have fun. It was a good day and one that every weekend should have. I look forward to more time on the river and a little bit of butter to make it even better.