Second Chances

The snake tree pool. I missed a big fish here in April. This could be the same fish. I'm convinced it is. This pool is such a great "big fish" home. It's not the easiest to fish, a high bank on the left is the best shooting point. The high bank leaves you with a sagging line which can often impair a hookset. I made a dozen casts on the left side of the snake tree. Started with a quick retrieve and then some slow deeper retrieves. Nothing... Was about to head to the next run when I decided let's throw one over the snake tree, if I hook up I'll have to run downstream to avoid getting caught in the tree. Sure enough, first toss over the tree and this beautiful brown comes out from under the tree and attacks the brown grizzly bugger. From 8 feet above the water the visual of seeing this fish come out from under the tree rendered me motionless for a second. Those big fish moments turn seconds into minutes. The image of the one I missed in April is still burned in my head but is now accompanied with a thankfulness for second chances. She was full of eggs and taped out at 20".

One thing could have made the fishing better this day. That's if I would have been sharing the exceptional fishing with a fellow trout bum.  The celebration of a nice catch is best with company and watching a friend catch a nice fish is sometimes better than if you'd caught it yourself. Good fishing is best when shared.

October is the start of deer season in Iowa, beginning with bow and muzzleloader. This is one of those spots where you may find yourself in the middle of a hunt. Happend to me last year and makes me weary about fishing this water until the Spring. A tough choice given the quality of fish in this section.