Season's Start

 

 

 

Above: Gates Lodge on the Holy Waters of the Au Sable in east of Grayling, Michigan.

 

Usually, the opener brings a witty or clever or funny message. This year there is little laughter. The 2020 season was a huge "no go" on socialization for most of us and our fishing suffered for it. So this year: a simple message that the fish are out there.

 

I opened Saturday with the North Branch of the Au Sable upstream from Lovells, Michigan. It is brook trout water but int he past three years, we've had some sort of event which decimated the population. The good news: they're back.

 

Below, a couple of small brookies from my efforts. Actually, they're two of a total of six that I managed to get in a net.   The one on top I had to work to get the take every bit as hard as a trophy brown.

I was grinning like a drunken skunk when he came to the net.

 

 

All my fish were taken on soft hackles in the top eight inches of water. It was awesome!

 

Saturday night saw a lovely small socially-distancing after-opener party hosted by my friend Lauren at her cabin on the Manistee. We had burgers and brauts cooked over the firepit. Lovely time. 

The evening was less thrilling. I camped. Rain turned to cold (I used a 0 degree bag)  and then this morning, sleet. Yea, sleet!

I broke camp and loose packed my tent fly in a construction garbage bag for the four hour ride home (road construction season). When I got it out to put it in the sun and breeze to dry, it was still coated with ice.

Luckily, it is sunny and forty-five degrees at home. Great drying day for boots, waders, and tents.

I hooked six fish. Three I had to work diligently to earn the take. Two to net, two lost at net (barbless fishing), and two to long distant release.

I had a blast. I hope your opener goes as well.

 

Watch the ice build-up.

Prost.

The Covid Opener Update 2021

 

 You know my little friend here at the left.  Image from the public domain - CDC. Friends in the trout world have inquired how I am doing given our world class headlines here in the mitten state. 

This is Rumor Control. Here are the facts! - Aliens 3.

First, this surge really sucks this year.

Last year was a year of fear and uncertainty. This year is a year of a known enemy and stupid people everywhere.

Michigan hit 530+ cases (active infections) per 100,000 people this past week. This rate means everyone in the state has at least one person they know with Covid. I work for a small boutique healthcare concern and in my shop of twenty-six people (acutely away of covid protocols, mind you) I have two with active cases and another under isolation protocol through the end of this week. 

Their kids are the suspects. More than half our state cases are in the under 40 crowd and the single largest demographic is the 20-29 age group.

My shop represents a lot of people in a small sample who have the covid.

Germany which is having its own covid crisis right now (and Merkel is federalizing the response this week taking control out of the hands of the individual German states) has an infection rate of 136 out of 100,000 people.

It is bad here. 

My legislature does not want any further shutdowns (red legislature with a blue governor) and has been active about trying to remove powers related to public health management because: idiots. 

I have left my house (other than food) once in three weeks to take my wife for her second shot Saturday night. We drove an hour and fifteen minutes each way because that was where we could get a vaccine appointment. 

I will get my second shot in Ohio on Friday driving an hour each way. My state has distribution problems. Ohio does not. We had a union fight here over prioritization because making one group go first means other groups lose.  As a result, our plan was late and so our vaccine supply is late. 

Get your papers in on time when teacher tells you, kiddies.

Michigan Senate Majority Leader (republican Mike Shirkey) wrote the following in Crains Detroit Business published on Jan 21 this year.

Senate Republicans have been fighting to restore balance and commonsense in the state's strategy to address COVID-19. At the top of our list of priorities for 2021 is safely reopening Michigan's economy.

Local businesses have proven they are capable of meeting reasonable health and safety regulations.

Yet, there are still specific industries, like restaurants, that have been singled out by the governor despite no evidence showing these establishments are a significant source of virus spread.

The idiot doesn't know that humans associating with humans cause the spread of covid and restaurants CAN be sources of unmasked individuals congregating in close proximity one to another. 

Also, our previous lockdown worked (until people were idiots about Thanksgiving).  

I'll just sum up the state of the lunacy here in my state with a fishing quote from my favorite move: Jaws.

I think I am familiar with the fact that you are going to ignore this particular problem until it swims up and bites you in the ass. - Hooper.

I can only hope your local versions of village idiots have less say in the conduct of infection management than mine. I am personally hoping my collection of idiots get covid and die. Maybe they can get cancer and die. I really don't care either way as long as the outcome is the same.

Stupid ought to hurt (or kill).

Oh, and the Texas argument? Why doesn't Texas have a problem after opening the state? They lie.  

I wouldn't trust so much as a date on a report to be correct if it was issued by the state of Texas. 

Trout season and the opener will be a solitary pursuit for me.  Isolation camping. Solitary fishing.

Good luck all. I'll see you on the other side, I hope.

Getting Ready, Like Everybody Else.

 

The winter has seen a good amount of tying in the form of Monday Night Flies. We're done for the the season now until fall. Too much to do during the week before dashing off on weekends.

Happy Easter!

I'm anxious for the season but Michigan's cornavirus numbers are way too far in the red. I might dash up for a solitary camp but won't be stopping at Spike's for a burger or for anything else. 

Trust no one.

I just wanted to say "happy opener" to all my trout friends and show we're still here, tying, and dreaming of camping riverside.

Mind the footing. The water is cold.

Prost.