Persistence

Some say fishing takes patience, others say you have to be in the right place at the right time, and still others think it is all just dumb luck.

Well mostly all of that is true but this I know, "You can't catch a fish unless your line is in the water".

I try to live by that motto and thus strive to keep my line wet as often as possible.

This week I am back in Utah for more meetings and training. I arrived to more snow and overcast weather with no signs of spring here yet. No worries - I hoped to be heading up the mountain to tangle with some brown bullies before sundown.

The Heber Valley has had it's share of snow and much of it still remains as this sidewalk shot on main street shows.

My plan was successful and after trudging down the tracks I found myself knee deep in snow on the edge of Snake Creek downstream of the Heber Trestle with about an hour of good daylight left.

This section of the creek had not been fished lately due to the deep snow and I was anxious to see if there were any hungry fish waiting for a tasty morsel to come floating by.

I cast the white curly tail grub first and within three or four casts had a hefty brown hooked up.

This big boy had been eating well and was a nice heavy fish around 18" long.

Give him another couple of years and he will develop the hook jaw of a mature adult brown.

I fished the rest of the area but Mr. Big had made some long and energetic runs which put the rest of the fish in the area down.

I made my way back upstream and couldn't seem to find a single fish all the way back up to the big pool. When I got there I was sure that I would find some fish eager to grab the grub but cast after cast yielded no fish. I saw several fish take a run at my offering but they would refuse it at the last second or just grab the tail and let go.

I changed tactics and began throwing a chartreuse Rooster Tail only to find a similar reluctance in these fish to "go ahead and take it already!"

I stood still in one spot for over 30 minutes alternating between the grub and the spinner knowing that persistence had paid off in this very spot not too long ago.

I became such a part of the scenery that Mr. Muskrat came out to join me and calmly ate roots and stems just across the creek from me. He was all but oblivious to my persistent casting, drifting, and retrieval.

The daylight was just beginning to fade and I was considering making the move back to the car when my efforts were rewarded by this nice trout finally jumping the grub.

I caught two more fish in the next 15 minutes and all these fish were acrobatic jumpers and fighters.

The last fish of the day was as long as the first one but he was much leaner.

This final shot is of him being released back to the pool to grow up and fight another day.

I'm glad I decided to stay and fish the pool as long as I did. I'm pretty sure I caught every fish that showed himself except for one little dink that foiled every attempt I made to entice him to the hook.

I'll be looking for him tomorrow!