Solo Act

Major milestone while fishing the Pere Marquette yesterday. I hooked, fought, landed, and released my first solo steelhead. I've caught plenty of steelies, but all have been in the company of a guide. That's no picnic (if you've hooked on, you know) but doing it all on your own is a whole other thing.

When you're solo, a million things are running through your head. Should I fish that dark water? Or the seam? How's my depth? Am I running enough weight? What about my flies - cheese or something darker? Hex nymphs or stones? When you're our with a guide, you know an experienced hand is helping you sort all that out. Which leaves you to focus on detecting strikes, fighting fish, and closing the deal.

But, as guide friend Jon Ray says, "bobber don't lie..." and when that bobber went down on the PM yesterday, I knew I'd done at least some of that stuff right. Had a nice little fight with a beautiful buck. Got him landed, unhooked and released promptly - I want them to live to fight another day. Only problem is that when you're a solo act, pictures are a bit more challenging. So I have to settle for the image that's burned into my mind. That's just fine by me.

The best part may have been calling my Dad on the way home. Right away he said, "That's your first steel on your own, right?" and I could hear the pride and excitement in his voice. Very cool.

-Sean-

P.S. I did get some nice pictures from a very pretty snowy day on the river; coming soon!