Bill, Bill, Bill and Dave too!- Thank Goodness For Trout

The second  outing was a fishing/filming outing to the Southeast of Minnesota with my friends, Bill Sherck of Due North Outdoors and Dave Anderson of On The Fly Guide Service. Look for this story to air on television in the near future. This was another renewing experience. It brought me back with a slap in the face and a kick in the pants for my inspiration. I had forgotten how much fun it was to catch trout. After all, it had been over 3 months since my last rainbow on the Brule in November that I had felt the tug and head shake of a fish on. It was heavenly.

Bill began the outing on Wednesday, showing off his cool new look in his form fitting new-fangled waders. Notice his tiger stripes.

Dave was next, leading us on the back roads of Southeast Minnesota to his favorite winter fishing spot on Muffin Bake Creek. As Dave guided us to the first hole we would fish, the words came from his mouth that this pool would be the MONEY. I could see both Bill and photojournalist(cameraman) Aaron Achtenberg cringe. Many times before while filming, these two have heard the same phrase uttered from other professional anglers. Most of the time that statement is the kiss of death as far as catching goes. As we all know there are no guarantees when it comes to putting fish on the fly.  The most important rule on these filming outings is to keep the cameraman happy. Great photojournalists know how to shoot and Aaron is one of the best. However without fish, there is only the unfortunate story of three professional anglers, on the MONEY spot, who can’t fool a 6″ trout. Photojournalists tend not to be impressed by this type of performance and even though Aaron is a fine fly angler himself, his talents are much better utilized when he can actually film a subject with fins and a tail. The wind had just picked up and the snow began to fall. The sun was nowhere in sight. On Dave’s third cast his rod bent nicely.

The rest of the day continued the same way. We gallery fished, harassed each other and switched after each angler caught three fish. I might have been a bit greedier than the others on this day. Aaron had enough fish footage after the first hour. He actually fished a bit near the end of the day and was not disappointed. The picture below shows the number on the fish counter(yes, I have a fish counter for those clients who are partial to keeping exact data) for the 4 hour fish. Dave showed us the money and we put it all back in the machine.
Fly fishing for trout in the winter may bring about both epic or dismal results. Each outcome feeds the fire of a return visit. The former nourishes the ego into proving prowess again. The later challenges the spirit to observe, and overcome. Experiencing it with friends is therapy.

I think this photo says it all.