3-30-12

Brutal, brutal! You’ve read our posts:  “Great day on the water, fabulous atmospherics, and so on.” Not today. When I have to shovel the sleet on the floor of the boat into a pile to keep Rod and Ron erect, you know this was no bluebird day on the MO.  Sleet, rain, wind, fingers that didn’t want to respond—that was Mother Nature’s hand dealt to us today.  Ron Barch, owner/operator of Alden Creek Fly Rods, a bamboo rod making company annually hosts fellow bamboo rod maker Bill from Missouri.  Active in Trout Unlimited there, Bill donates half of his rod production to environmental and fisheries related fund raisers.  This year, he brought his architect brother Rod.  All the guys were flat-out terrific:  no complaints about the weather, toughness through and through, and multiple hookups and fish brought to hand all day. Top it all off with a gourmet banquet prepared by Ron’s friend Bob (and former colleague of mine), and believe it or not, it proved a most memorable and enjoyable day.  Ron holds a handsome buck, and Bill, a hen nearly finished with her homemaking chores. Check out the treetops behind Rod and the skipper he holds; iced over as were we!

Captain Tom Kuieck