I’m not eloquent enough to put together some meaningful essay about what Opening Day meant to me as a kid. So here’s some rambling thoughts about Opening Day, that leads to a fish of a lifetime report.
When I was a kid Opening Day was the biggest day of the year for me. I would spend the weeks before organizing my tackle box. All my Triple Teazers, Dick Nites, Dardevle Spoons, Flatfish… would be neatly aligned and polished.
When Opening Day arrived my dad and I would head to Lake Louise. A local lake by our house. We would troll Ford Fenders followed by various lures in hopes of getting our limit. I think most years we did. Those days were some of the best days a kid could ever have and helped shaped who I am today.
Fast forward 40+ years.
Last week I took my dad fishing. He doesn’t fly fish or fish much at all. Luckily for me my favorite lake is a Selective Gear lake. I rigged him up with a Rooster Tail and guided him around the lake. He did well casting the spinner. After awhile we anchored up. I put on a leech with some split shot on his spinning rod. He caught some nice fish on this setup-
I decided to continue my journey into trying chironomid fishing. I put on an indicator and a small blood midge. That way I could help my dad and watch my indicator at the same time. After a few minutes I saw my indicator slowly go down. I set the hook and immediately thought I was snagged on the bottom. Then the snag started pulling back. At first I wasn’t sure what was going on. This lake is not known for big fish. Then I got a glimpse of the fish and my jaw dropped. I could not believe what I saw. It was big! After a total s show of unwrapping it around the anchor line (twice) and wild swing and miss net attempts by my dad, we managed to land it. This is far and away the biggest wild trout I’ve ever caught. My dad was more excited than I was. It was so cool to have my dad with me when I caught this fish. A quick picture was taken (not a great picture, but since my 81 year old dad took it, I was just happy the fish was in the picture
) and the fish was sent back on its way.
The path to this fish started on an Opening Day 40+ years ago with my dad-
When I was a kid Opening Day was the biggest day of the year for me. I would spend the weeks before organizing my tackle box. All my Triple Teazers, Dick Nites, Dardevle Spoons, Flatfish… would be neatly aligned and polished.
When Opening Day arrived my dad and I would head to Lake Louise. A local lake by our house. We would troll Ford Fenders followed by various lures in hopes of getting our limit. I think most years we did. Those days were some of the best days a kid could ever have and helped shaped who I am today.
Fast forward 40+ years.
Last week I took my dad fishing. He doesn’t fly fish or fish much at all. Luckily for me my favorite lake is a Selective Gear lake. I rigged him up with a Rooster Tail and guided him around the lake. He did well casting the spinner. After awhile we anchored up. I put on a leech with some split shot on his spinning rod. He caught some nice fish on this setup-
I decided to continue my journey into trying chironomid fishing. I put on an indicator and a small blood midge. That way I could help my dad and watch my indicator at the same time. After a few minutes I saw my indicator slowly go down. I set the hook and immediately thought I was snagged on the bottom. Then the snag started pulling back. At first I wasn’t sure what was going on. This lake is not known for big fish. Then I got a glimpse of the fish and my jaw dropped. I could not believe what I saw. It was big! After a total s show of unwrapping it around the anchor line (twice) and wild swing and miss net attempts by my dad, we managed to land it. This is far and away the biggest wild trout I’ve ever caught. My dad was more excited than I was. It was so cool to have my dad with me when I caught this fish. A quick picture was taken (not a great picture, but since my 81 year old dad took it, I was just happy the fish was in the picture
) and the fish was sent back on its way.The path to this fish started on an Opening Day 40+ years ago with my dad-
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