Trending
The statewide opening days of trout season have come and gone. The mentored youth and traditional first mornings once again provided terrific memories for my family and others.
While the mentored outing ended up being a great day on the water, I initially feared a complete washout. Heavy rain the week leading up to that Saturday morning had our local creeks blown out -- the water was very high and muddy.
I knew the stream where I normally take the kids was basically unfishable, so I had two options: a high mountain stream that quickly recovers from heavy rains, or a stocked lake.
I asked my kids if they wanted to head out the following morning or just wait until the traditional opener.
It was a split vote. My little guy was determined to go fishing. He had been counting down to the first trout fishing trip of the year and some high water was not going to stop him from making his first cast.
I packed my truck with our gear and sent out a few texts to friends who usually took their kids either to the mountains or a lake regardless of the conditions.
After some good information, I made the decision to give lake fishing a try. I had never done it before for trout, but I figured it had a higher upside with a kindergartener along.
While we usually fish the openers near the house, the lake was a decent drive from Middleburg. He woke early with a smile on his face, got dressed and jumped in the truck.
Since we left in record time, we had plenty of time to stop for breakfast. As we were standing in line at the donut shop a few locals who hang out there every morning noticed we were dressed to go fishing and started to share their opinions loudly about our upcoming adventure.
"That kid should just take his donuts and chocolate milk and go home instead of wasting his time fishing," one said.
Another one added, "They will need a two-pound sinker to be able to get to the bottom."
If my son wasn't along, there is a good chance I would have corrected those know-it-alls, but instead I just smiled and headed back out to the parking lot.
When we arrived at the lake I scoped out the best location to fish. Twice I picked a spot and put out our chairs and equipment and was immediately crowded by other dads and grandfathers. Eventually I moved to a place where River would have room to operate.
As much as I love trout fishing, I absolutely hate being crowded while doing so. In fact, I skip a lot of the best hatches of the year because I cannot stand being side by side with other anglers on the stream.
Despite the shore filling up with young fishermen, we still had reasonable space to fish. I told River that I would make the casts and then he could have the rod. There was no reason to press our luck with him throwing over others' lines or risk hooking a fellow youngster.
It was cold and very windy, but the little guy was tough and calmly waited for the 8 a.m. start time. While the conditions didn't hinder his spirits, they made fishing rather tough.
Traditionally we bounce salmon eggs down the creek bottom for trout. But calm water meant we needed to adjust our strategy. I decided a worm with a bobber would be the best option.
Once it was time to begin, I made the first cast and handed him the rod. Within 30 seconds he hooked the first fish on the lake. Seconds later he landed a nice brookie. After a quick picture, we put the trout back in the water.
The wind continued to pick up and fishing with a bobber from our location was tough. As soon as the bobber hit the water, the wind blew it to our right. When there are many lines in the water, this creates a lot of tangles for everyone in the vicinity.
I decided to switch it up and tie on a Summit Spinner that I had been given earlier in the week. After talking River though his few retrieval attempts, he finally figured out the right speed and rod angle to bring his golden spinner to the bank.
From that point on, he was consistently hooking trout. I netted three straight rainbows as he impressed the nearby parents.
His fourth trout inhaled the hook on the spinner and it was pretty obvious it was not going to be able to be successfully released. I kept that trout and told River he would taste his first fish he caught himself. The next night he gave me good reviews on his grilled rainbow trout.
Before the morning started, we decided we would stay until he caught five trout, which he considers his limit even when we are practicing catch-and-release. The action slowed, but he kept reeling until he finally hooked his final rainbow of the morning at 8:50.
After watching that trout swim away we packed up our equipment and headed for the truck to warm up. He excitedly called his mom on the way home to tell him that he was able to catch five fish.
I jokingly told River he should take his photos into the donut shop the next morning and show the peanut gallery that he indeed was able to catch some trout.
The following Saturday we were back at our usual spot waiting for the statewide opener. Bella and River had high hopes for a limit of trout before heading to an Easter egg hunt.
Like most years, my dad joined us at the creek to help me with the kids.
It did not take long for the first action of the day. Both kids hooked trout quickly on salmon eggs as the sibling competition started. They continued to yell back and forth to each other as they caught fish.
Bella needed one fish to reach her five-fish limit when she hooked into a small one using a worm in some slow water. Unlike the rest of the fish that she expertly kept in the water to be netted, she brought the small brownie up on the bank.
As I started to bend over, it popped off the hook and rolled back into the creek. I told Bella that the fish was still considered a catch and that was her limit anyway since we don't kill the trout. But the second grader had a different opinion. She wanted to touch the fish to consider it a catch. So we kept fishing.
That was not the only disappointment regarding a brown trout that morning. The previous year Bella had lost a big brownie in the same hole where her little brother was fishing Saturday. Apparently the browns like that spot because River hooked into a good one while using a fly rod with salmon eggs.
My dad said River battled the trout like an expert, keeping his rod up, moving left and right and eventually pulling toward the bank to be netted. Just as his grandpa tried to land it, the fish came out of the water and spit the hook. The rod flew back, hit the bill of River's hat and nearly knocked him over. He was a little upset, but eventually saw the event as comic relief instead of a fishing tragedy.
They each needed one more fish as time grew closer to when they needed to leave to make it to their egg hunt. Bella stuck to her hole and eventually landed her fifth rainbow of the morning. She was all smiles as she had five pictures of her holding a fish to show her family members.
But River was not having much luck fooling his final trout of the morning. At that time we decided to take a walk and fish a hole upstream that usually produces a few trout. It only took two casts for him to catch his fifth. After initially having one get off, he was able to hook another and bring it to the bank.
To most, catching a limit of trout is considered a great morning of fishing. But to me, it was a great morning of fishing as soon as I saw my two kids walking in my direction well before the first casts were made.
The first days of trout season are not about hooking rainbows, brookies or brownies for this trout fishing enthusiast. It is about a family tradition of three generations spending time together doing one of our favorite activities.
As a kid I looked forward to the opening morning of trout season each year with my father and grandfather. Now I am very glad to see my kids do the same thing.
¯¯¯
Zach Knepp writes about the outdoors for The Sentinel.