Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Cold Casting Saturday

Doing some early morning casting on Saturday with any open water I can find. The plan was to tackle a slice of tailwater before the reality of the warm weather report had a chance to materialize and play itself out. Weather like this in December can draw a heavy crowd. We could get in early and deal with some cold or have to deal with a bit of angling traffic. What Don and I didn’t expect was single digit temps for the start up.

For some reason the 40-degree high with very little wind forecast lulled me into a false sense of security and a mere two-layer setup. My eyes briefly glanced at the low temps predicted for this area but didn’t take notice. The bright yellow\orange icon on the Internet weather report suckered me in. It wasn’t until the morning gear up and ride up the mountain when reality set in.

“This is going to be a cold @#$%!”

The truck was parked in predawn light and left to talk to alien space ships (yes, I drove again on this trip). Our breath formed billowing clouds as we cursed Father Winter and wished for the sun to make an early appearance. Working the gear felt like reaching into a bag of pins and needles. Movement was limited and every cast came with some element of pain. Half the morning was spent with gloves on warming the fingers and the other half was spent fishing while wishing I had the gloves back on.

(Above: Sorry for the grimace. I would be happier if my hands weren’t dipped in the water before grabbing this fish. Not a trophy fin-slapper but it will have to do.)

The open water congregates ducks and there seemed to be a few hundred. These mallard and hen combos were churning up the bottom with their beaks in a complete fervor. At times the activity would brown up the water and foul up the rig. This would force me to pry off the gunk off with my fingers. At times the gunk would freeze up on the knot so hard that I would have to dig the pliers from my pocket.

(Above: Small cluster of web-footed waddlers. For the first part of the morning ducks were the only things active. Ten feet in either direction offered another group.)

In between duck clusters and cold weather curses I did manage to get a few nibbles and even a fish or two in the common slot. With more effort I could have tempted and most likely missed the big fish, which typically happens to me on this stretch for no good reason. Unfortunately hooking up with a fish also requires the release of said fish. In an effort to minimize handling damage my hands are wetted before touching the fin-slapper. This helps prevent the removal of the slimy layer on a fish’s body that acts a bit like an immune system. This small act of altruism may help the fish but this time of year it tends to make my fingers turn bright red with pain.
(Above: Quite a few shots on this trip turned out grainy from poor light and others unacceptable. Hopefully my one or two avid readers will forgive the shameless double posting pics of the same fish.)

By the time I reached the 18th hole on this stretch my fingers felt like they had been smashed routinely with a meat tenderizer. Don and I had to take longer and longer breaks from casting. One of my rods was iced up like an icicle where as the other one was not picking up any bites. This is where I decide to switch up and put the hot creature pattern on the one working stick left. As soon as I trim the lure Don says something I have never heard him say before.

“Let’s go grab a cup of coffee. My fingers stopped working an hour ago.”

I didn’t even finish tying up. We rounded up our gear and the shards of our sanity before finding the trail that lead over the bridge and back to the truck. Turn the key, engine turns over and we head out to find a coffee shop. Stumbling across the Egg & I we roll in for breakfast. Wrapping our hands around a steaming cup of coffee helped bring our fingers back to life.

(Above: Here is a shot leaving with the sun looking like it’s all nice and perfect. This is how a lot of spots look as I am leaving and everyone else is going in. Sometimes my planning works and sometimes it doesn’t.)

In closing I have to admit that some trips are not planned to hit the water at the prime time but more towards avoiding a stampede. By noon this area is typically full and you have to wait to fish in some sections. Rather than taking a number and waiting we chose to brave the early conditions and froze our @#%’s off. An angler with better planning and more patience might have done better. The things I need most are not sold in tackle stores.

My name is Matt and I’m a fishaholic

8 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

once again, you provided me with a few chuckles today - at your expense. :)

Bill Trussell said...

Matt
My hands and feet is what would concern me in that cold, I notice you are not wearing gloves, I hope you had some in your pocket--the colors on that brown is awesome.

Mark Kautz said...

I know I don't have to tell you, you should have, but you can't have enough clothes with you in the winter time. Those were some pretty painful looking hands. Made mine hurt just looking at them.

Mark

cofisher said...

I got cold just looking at the pictures and reading the story. You are Superman.

Anonymous said...

Hi, Matt! Reminds me of a winter fishing trip I made several years ago now on the Madison River below Quake Lake. Ended up with two fairly serious frost bitten fingers due to what I will call a lack of foresight and common sense.

Ricks Reel Adventures said...

The colors on that brown are impressive.

gretchen said...

That's a beautiful fish.

Coloradocasters said...

@TexWisGirl: This was not the easiest day and one of the few times that a hasty retreat seemed like the best option.

@Bill Trussel: I have a love\hate relationship with gloves while fishing. Yes, I usually have them with me but they often spend most of the trip in my pockets. This was a day I would have to stop fishing, put the gloves and warm the feeling back into my fingers before casting again.

@Shoreman: Great comment, Mark. I have fished in –2 weather with a 3 layer scheme and neoprene waders. Unfortunately on this trip I was lulled into a false sense of security by a forecast of near 50-degrees in the metro. Note to self: Double check the low temps…always.

@Howard: That is one of the best compliments I have ever gotten. There are a few more trips like this around the corner for me. Must fish.

@Mel: “Lack of foresight and common sense” is a good way to describe most of my fishing trips.


@FishinFool: Glad you stopped by. I really wanted a rematch on a few of the larger fish that I missed last time. Just didn’t happen.

@Gretchen (My sister): (sigh) I know I don’t call much and this is reply will seem weak at best. Please know that if I am not grumbling at the current state of the world I am sending my brotherly love and good thoughts your way…even if only in the deep recesses of my mind.