Mid July

Johny Cash wrote about hitting town when his throat was dry, in Mid July, but I don't think he ever fished the low waters of today. The odd thing was we have had non stop rain (over 45 days in just the last 2 months). But the water was as low as i have ever seen in July.

When it is hot & low i generally do not fish, i stop on the way up and pick up several bags of ice and then pack them in to drop them one by one in the pools between the rocks. Sometimes i fish out the coarse fish to allow the natives to breath & get enough to eat. Both of these approaches are odd, since these brookies have been here since the ice age (well not these particular ones). They seemed to do fine until i came along - so why is it that man (his ego) thinks he can make it better? Why should i fish out the sunnies to allow the brookies to better thrive? Ice for fish?

The morning broke below 70' which after two 100 degree days this week was a welcome relief. The high today was 80, but there was solid cloud cover and i had a really nice walk. I reached the high point and found a spot to sit, at this point i had raised only 1 fish (missed him) and caught a bass up high that would not have made decent bait for my brothers quarry. I enjoyed a cigar and walked down & out. The air was clean and refreshing and this was a day well spent.

Sometimes it is better to go for a walk with a nice stick and not fish.