Oink!

Jim's got the bug!  And how about that sixty degree November weather!

Friday Fish Porn

It's amazing what happens when you run in to a push of fresh fish.  Chaos. Madness. Dudewater.

The Day

If you fish our area long enough you'll find yourself obsessively checking things like weather reports, stream flows, forecasts, etc.  After it rains you start counting the hours, monitoring the flow gauges like you're possessed, and waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat to dreams of green water, screaming drags, and really big chromers.

This fall hasn't been a cakewalk.  No water, no fish - it's that simple.  So for anybody who cares about steelhead fishing in our area, the rain we had the other night was a welcome respite from a dry nightmare that just wouldn't end.  I was working today, and had the pleasure of fishing with two gents from the south.  These guys have both fished all over the world, and as a guide, when you know that about your clients coming up, it adds a bit of pressure.  There's not many ways that northeast Ohio can be compared to Alaska, Labrador, New Zealand, or anywhere like that - but when our fishing is good, it's just as good if not better than anywhere in the whole wide world.

I was a little nervous about what the water was going to look like this morning.  The gauge had dropped, but kind of stalled out, there had been a little more rain overnight, and there was still a lot of standing water in the drainage.  I'd stayed up late the night before tying big chartreuse, orange, and cerise sucker spawn; better to be ready for the worst.  I showed up just after first light, walked down to the river, and held my breath as I looked over the bank down in to the water.   After looking at the water only one question remained.  Is this going to be the day?

Our fishery has "boom potential" unlike any other.  Basically, if you run in to a fresh push of fish on an Erie tributary, chances are it's going to be a day you're going to remember for a very long time.  However, fish these rivers enough and you'll notice that things don't always happen the way they should - sometimes the water is perfect, but the other half the equation is missing.  Fish aren't always predictable, and they don't take angler concerns in to consideration when making their spawning runs in to our creeks.  Some days where conditions suggest that even trying to fish is futile, the creek gives fish away.  Other days when the fishing should be incredible the water is fickle and nothing comes easy.

  Today was one of those days where I thought it could have gone either direction.  But it didn't.

  

It was "the" day.

Operation Day

Taking the hard drive in for emergency surgery this morning...

Let's hope she can be saved. If so, among the thousands of pictures on there are some really cool shots from my last outing, which I promise to share with you. If not, I'm going into a deep state of booze-fueled depression and it might be a while before you hear from Fast Jimi again...

Dude Down...

Dudewater is a poster down as of right now. My external hard drive, on which I have been storing all of my pictures for the last 3 years, crapped out last night. For now I'm just praying that the data can be recovered. Stay tuned...

Our favorite color...

Chrome.

There's nothing better than setting the hook, and having it take off like a bat out of hell.  Or feeling the fish head towards the surface, and seeing a silver missile explode out of the water.  They're in the best condition of all the fish in the river.  Chromers are clean, fat, and most of them haven't seen a fly in months - so they're more than willing to eat the one on the end of your line.  When you find one, you can bet that he or she has company nearby.  What's not to like?

Some of my best memories while steelheading have been running in to massive pushes of chromers - the stars align and they all seem to be in the same place, thinking the same thing.  When you're in that place you're in for a day you won't forget.  Let's hope that the rain forecasted for later this week puts the silver fish in their "happy place" and sends them south.

That said, as we wait in anticipation of rain and crappy weather, here are some of Dudewater's favorite chromer shots to make everyone feel all warm and tingly inside.

She's a bright one.  Well, her color anyway.

Dudewater follower, Chuck, with a slab from the early fall.  Priceless.

They show up in the winter, too.

Fast Jimi with a good one.  She's a dime.

Doodaddies.  The tell-tale sign.

Surfs up!

A "freshie" with a little bit of fall in the background.

Silver.

Bring on the rain.

Trading Fins for Feathers

The fishing close to home has been a little off of late. A Sunday free from work provided a perfect opportunity to leave the rivers behind for a day and take to the fields. I'd been wanting to give pheasant hunting a shot for a while, and talked some buddies into showing me the ropes.

At Alex's suggestion, we stopped for a hearty Amish breakfast. I asked for the "lighter fare" menu...

Hangover helper meal

All that butter and sugar catches up to you quickly....

Apparently upland birds like to hide. Without the aid of a dog, it's on you to go and find 'em. Look closely and you'll see a couple hard-working hunters.

Practice swing

"Seriously though dude, where the hell are these things?"

Never did kick up a bird, but I really enjoyed this type of hunting. Next time I'm bringin' the hounds.