Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Forgotten rivers

Some times its easy to forget about a river, there were no fish, too many bugs or maybe bad fishing companions. It can be all of the above.
For several years I've been haunted by the Pine River, not the big one in western Michigan, but the little one just north of Oscoda in Alcona County in northeast Michigan.
I last fished it more than 20 years ago with my youngest son, when he was 12 years old. He's now 35 and has a real job, a wife and a daughter. That's a lot of water under the bridge.
I remembered the river as being narrow and shallow, but with cold, clear water that held brook trout, a favorite.
I finally got back to the Pine on Sunday, the last day of trout seasons. I'm glad I made the effort. The river was just as I remembered it. On my first trip there, my son caught one of his first brook trout, so it was a memorable occasion.
There were four of us on my recent visit, so we spread out across two access points, because the river can't support many anglers at one spot. Before we separated, one member of our party noticed a light caddis hatch, to my delight. I tied one on when we got to the river. The banks weren't very brushy, so I decided not to wade, but to bank fish, as not to disturb the trout in their holes. I was rewarded by strike after strike, but just didn't have the skills that day to pull in any fish.
But I'll be back next year. I'm happy to have rediscovered a good place.

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