Escape from G.R.
I took the old highway north, M-37, because it’s more relaxing. One lane was shut down in two spots but it was a small delay. I swung by Feral’s, up in Baldwin, to see if he was home. Thought he might want to go with me up the Pine River but his truck was gone. That was fine. It was one of those days where you suspect you may not be good company for anyone. A day to clear your head, not make conversation. Trout fishing is a good remedy for a lot of things. Sort of like driving. You put it on autopilot. Your mind can go places while you keep busy.
There’s a nice spot on the upper Pine I used to fish quite a bit. Smaller water. You take a gravel road until it ends and a two track continues. No public access signs. The two track splits and you veer left and finally stop at a turnaround. Fishermen that have been around for a while know the spot. It’s in Oceola County, not Lake. So that was my destination. The water was high and muddy but wadable. Right off I lost a nice brown trout about seventeen or eighteen inches. Lost him while fumbling for my net. Time to get my head into fishing. No auto-pilot. Catch fish, including two for dinner. I caught a small one and tossed him back figuring I had just started and more would come. Famous last words. A couple bends later I caught one about sixteen inches then wished I had kept the small one. That would have been perfect.
From there I saw a few trout make passes at my lure but no luck hooking them. I pushed my way further and further upstream, often in chest deep water against strong current. I started feeling it in my lower back but really wanted another fish. After fishing a deep pool I climbed out of the river and walked the bank back downstream. I had a sandwich at the car and decided to fish another stretch, one I had some confidence in but didn’t require a lot of walking.
If I thought the river was deep upstream, I should have expected tougher wading further downstream. Still, I climbed in the river and headed up against the current. I had to feel my way along with my feet. It’s easy to trip on hidden boulders or get caught on logs. So I moved forward one step at a time sideways to the current to minimize drag. I finally caught that second dinner fish. Pure luck, really. It’s hard for the fish to see the lure in muddy water, never mind catch it. It was about the same size as the one I tossed back earlier. Maybe twelve inches or so. Good for the skillet. I headed back to the car.
A week ago I was watching a news segment on CBS where they asked local newsmen what their perfect fathers day would be like. One guy said “put me in a dark room and close the door.” I have been laughing about that ever since. Not sure I could go with his idea but do understand what he was talking about. He should take up trout fishing.
Fichigan 