09/19/08

Today was tough fishing for us. We covered a lot of river, hooking fish in most of the places we stopped (except for some notable “tackle shop” spots), but landing only two, the largest of which was a jack Chinook! The other, though, was a gorgeous 20″ river brown trout that took a liking to an Antron Hex. Various misfortunes befell us, some which were guide induced—like a failed Albright knot—and some others fell into the “Oops on the hook set” and simple hook pullouts. Dan and Kurt joined me today, and while we enjoyed the beauty of the day and the hookups we had, we all were wishing for kings in the net. Just wasn’t meant to be. The cool thing, though, was how classy and philosophical both Kurt and Dan were. No hammering the guide. No griping. Just a genuine appreciation for the resource and the gorgeous day God sent our way. The sunrise over the Manistee was killer, and the temps and sunshine most pleasant. The sunrise picture doesn’t do it justice, but perhaps it conveys some sense of how spectacular the atmospherics were today.

Pictured is Kurt with the brown and mini-king (which smashed a purple, sparkle egg sucking leech) and the sunrise. Thanks, Dan and Kurt, for making today most enjoyable and memorable.

Tom Kuieck