Murphy's Law

[Driftless]

Murphy’s Law

 

I went out this afternoon trout fishing.  I questioned the wisdom of fishing on a robin’s egg blue sky day.  Trout shun sunlight.  I went outside to check the weather. The warmth of the afternoon coaxed me out of the house.

 

 

I fished a stretch I have done well on in the past.  I knew because of the bright sun I would more than likely not do well on big trout this outing.  Trout do not have eye lids and shun bright sun.

When I got to the stream the outdoor temperature was 58 degrees.  I took the water temperature and it was almost 50 degrees.  That is well within a good temperature range to score some trout.

 

 

I hit the water at 2:45pm.  The sun was high in the sky and not a single cloud was in the sky.  I knew from experience that days like these I typically fished the shaded side of the stream.  There was no shaded side of the stream. 

 

 

The fishing was tough.  I had lots of follows and flashes at my lure.  None seemed to want to commit.   I decided to look for cover for the trout.  I decided anything to throw a little shade on the trout would make them feel comfortable.

 

 

The trout had lock jaw.  I decided to target broken water so the trout would feel secure and come out in the bright light.  They still were bashful.  I decided another trick was in order.

I was going to throw in the biggest snarly messes and let the lure drop to the bottom and give it a tweak to start the blade going.  Bang bang and I was in business.  This only worked in deep runs and i lost a few lures throwing into the mess.

 

 

I ended the outing with 24 brown trout to hand. The biggest was about 16 inches.  It was 5:30pm.  I usually get out at a bridge and today was nothing different.  I stood on the bridge looking upstream.  There was a sweet log jam just upstream of the bridge and it was in shadows.

 

 

I decided i was going to go just upstream in the shadows and cast a few more times. I was still on the bridge looking upstream. I looked at my reel and there was a loop on the spool.  This loop needed to be cast out if I was going to continue fishing.  I decided the bridge afforded the best angle and no trees in the way to cast out the loop in my spool.

 

 

I cast off the bridge.  The loop caught and dropped my cast about 15 yards upstream.  It nearly didn't land in the water.  It hit tight to the bank and I had a big snarl in my reel.  I looked down and saw my panther martin was barely in the water.  I decided to pull off some line and get this snarl out.  I made even a bigger mess.

 

 

I sat down on the bridge rail and started to mess with my giant snarl.  I again looked at my lure and it was barely in the water.  I was worried about losing the lure because of the snarl.  It was safe and barely dangling in the water.

 

 

I  really made a mess with the reel.  I was cussing it and trying to untangle it.  I lost focus on my lure in the water. I was peering over my glasses and really putting all my attention on this mess and I heard a splash sound.  I looked upstream and saw nothing.  I looked back at the reel.  I heard a louder splash and looked over the bridge at my lure suspended in the water.

 

 

My mouth dropped open wide and I stared in disbelief.  Me messing with the line caused the lure to jig up and down in the water.  This attracted a predator.  Not 2 inches from my lure was a giant trout suspended and staring at the size 9 gold panther martin deluxe waiting for it to move again.

 

 

My reel was still messed up so there was no battling this huge female trout on my reel if it decided to quit dancing with my panther martin and eat it. The bridge was at least 15 feet off the water and the idea of battling a monster trout from above was not appealing.  I worked frantically on the snarl.  It got even more messed up.

 

 

My fighting with this reel and keeping one eye on the giant female was nerve racking.  She still was very interested in my lure.  She circled it like a shark.  It was more than I could stand.  I decided if I hooked up with her with this less than optimal circumstances I would lose her and maybe kill her because of the bridge nonsense.

 

 

I decided to try to catch her another day.  The reel was non functional and i grabbed the line and lifted the lure out of the water.  What happened next is going to be relived in my dreams for the rest of my life.  The monstrous female brown bum rushed the lure as I lifted it out of the water.  It launched itself out of the water snapping at the spinner.  It was a swing and a miss. I got my wits back together and thought about cutting out the snarl and trying for her. I decided a return trip was on the agenda.  As I write this recollection I smile and cuss my circumstances.

Edited March 29, 2017 by LHarris