Good Head

Good Head

As an angler, I have often preached “There are no Rules” (OK guys, here is where your arms go up).*

Anyhow, the rule is; An angler should never spend more time driving to and from a destination if the fishing time is going to be less than the driving time. This rule tends to keep an angler in check from the gripping clutches of a debilitating ailment my Bride calls Fly Fishing on the Brain. This simple rule can help fend off the crazed thoughts of an angler who requires redemption from an unsuccessful fishing outing, obsessively needs to break loose from the drama of life, knows there are only a few days left in the season or unknowingly wastes money they don’t have. It is one of the symptoms of unconscious incompetence and can become overwhelming to the angler. The rule was basically put into practice to save marriages but also serves to extinguish the pathological, compulsive behavior that fly anglers can exhibit when establishing order of importance in their life.

Sometimes I break the rule. There, I said it. I will not undergo treatment until next weekend. The steelhead season is almost over.

*This absurd practice/gesture was started by my friends Rob, Jeff and Randy, who I am sure were intoxicated at the time. Their silly, boyish, immature antics commence when I attempt to answer a serious angling question. The “arms up” are a signal, as I understand, for all activities to cease as I climb upon my soap box and begin to preach. I guess for this group of rugged, good looking outdoorsmen it is their form of man love. Gee guys, I appreciate it and hope it does not sound too much like that movie.

IMG_5158BRULE UPDATE

Yesterday was a great day on the river. Wet, foggy, windless yet warmish conditions made for some great casting practice on the water. Catching or hooking was entirely another matter. If it was not for the last cast of the day there would have been a goose egg in my column. By all accounts from the anglers we talked to(except for one, and the guy was fishing with night crawlers) fish were not being caught. The general chat was that anglers had been having some tough fishing over the last few days. The muddy path showed no lack of  traffic, but after 6 solid hours of fishing we had only managed to touch 1 fish. It was a gift.

Theory for the day was somewhat the same as in mid-October;

-When the fish count numbers come out this December they will be lower than expected.

-The majority of fish being landed are in the 20-23″ range. Of course, all the bigger fish are getting away! Anglers on the Brule always know exactly how long the fish are that they never land.

-A couple old timers that we spoke to yesterday felt that the low catch rate could be attributed to charter boats for hire. These commercial fishing boats, which previously had not been present, have dramatically increased around the mouth of the Brule and surrounding area. Steelhead in the “keeper” size(26″) seem to be in short supply. Brule theory 307 states that Charter boats could be keeping the 26″+ fish and that is why we are not catching as many of that size. It is Brule theory 206 that states that the fish are not in the river yet because the charter boat captains have located  large schools still in the lake.

WANTED EMPLOYMENT

My Bride/financial advisor has informed me that if I would like to continue living the dream that I need to find some seasonal employment. If any readers of this blog are aware of such an opportunity, please shoot me an email.

Thanks in Advance

Andy