Spring is here. Opening day is only a few short days away and life holds meaning again for those among us who have waited to make the all important first cast of the season. Some will wait until the buds on trees are the size of a mouses ear or the ice leaves the ponds or some other reason handed down from farther to son. I am one of those that must, perhaps as a sign of my dedication to the sport, fish the first day regardless of the perils of early Spring fishing. That said lets look at last years first Brown Trout caught in April in a stream you can hop across at any point of it’s length. My delema is, can I posibly beat this fish this April. I caught this one on a Nymph fished off a stone fly dropper, a caddis nymph as I recall. What…a fight trying to keep him from under logs and brush. The excitement of that first Brown was a reawakening of a sense of well being not felt for a long winter.I anxiously await the ritual of opening day!!
Great article Greg. That fish might be tough to beat. What a gorgeous Brown Trout. It makes me wonder about all those little streams that go unexplored in Maine (and there are literally 10’s of thousands of them – just look at your Delorme Topographic Map!) How many of those little streams are holding beautiful fish? Probably more than we think. So I guess the lesson here is never judge a stream by its size or lack of popularity. Find the fish! Can’t wait to have as many great days with you as we had last year! We caught a ton of fish, got lost alot, slipped off rocks, explored new rivers, talked alot of nonsense, laughed alot, made plans, broke plans, left our wifes wondering where we were, blew off work, picked up some work, met tons of people we liked, met even more people we did not like, drove thousands of miles, ate terrible food, slept in horrible hotels, drank good coffee and bad coffee and truly lived! Can’t wait to do it all again.