2 Favorite Catches from 2015

I tried to pick a single favorite fish from 2015, but the best I could do was to narrow it to two. Each had unique appeals, and I can't  quite decide. Both were big trout that I caught and released, but that's pretty much where the similarities end.

The first, a brown trout that grabbed a Rebel Tracdown Ghost Minnow, came early this summer from North Carolina's Linville River. I was on my way to a writer trip farther north in the North Carolina mountains and had time for a quick detour. I actually wanted to explore Linville Gorge, but the river was high from recent rain, and I decided that hiking down into the gorge alone would neither be prudent nor productive. Instead I settled to fish around a single river bend in a section of easily accessible hatchery supported waters on Blue Ridge Parkway land. I expected there might be a few stocker-sized rainbows around (which there were). What I didn't expect was to feel a crushing strike and then see a thick band of yellow at the end of my line. I was alone, with no net, so you can guess that I was a bit tense until I managed to land the fish. Next trick, of course, was trying to get a photo. I took a few quick close-ups to make sure I got something and then set up a single self-timer photo with the camera on a rock before I let the fish go, hung my lure back on my rod and continued on my journey.

The other, which is pictured at the top, occurred later in the summer, while Asher and I were on our Rebel Trout Trek out West. I think it was a Snake River cutthroat, although it might have been a rainbow. I wish I could say for sure. Whatever it was, it was a good one, and it hit a Rebel Wee Crawfish while Asher and I were wade fishing in the Delaney Butte Lakes in Colorado. Big trout are no surprise in those waters, but summer doldrums had hit when we were there, and it was the only bite we had in probably six hours of fishing. That catch had some landing drama of it's own. We had a net, but the first time Asher tried to net it, he realized it didn't fit very well. "The net isn't big enough!" he yelled as the fish flopped out and surged again. When I got it close again, he had to carefully scoop it tail-first so it went into the hoop tail-to-nose instead of being across it. He did a fine job getting it in the net and getting photos before we let it go.

Maine to Alaska

Last year's fishing trips certainly spanned the miles. Best I can figure by looking back through blogs, I needed fishing licenses from 17 different states (plus Ontario) in 2011. Geographic range was from Alaska to Maine to Texas. Nine fishing days were on the ice in Minnesota or Colorado. Prior to 2011, I had spent a grand total of one day ice fishing.

I enjoyed the opportunity to spend a quite a bit of time casting for smallmouths last years, including inaugural visits to Maine's Penobscot River and Wisconsin's legendary Door County. I didn't spend as many days trout fishing as I normally do, but a friend and I did get the opportunity to introduce Nathaniel to our favorite river -- the West Fork of the Chattooga River.
My fish-catchingest days of 2011 (and among the most fun) were just a couple of weeks ago, with Frank Campbell on the Niagara River. We literally caught hundreds of pounds of steelhead, brown trout and lake trout. Another favored day included minimal fish catching because the river was low and the bite wasn't happening. That was the day I floated Arkansas' beautiful Buffalo River with Nathaniel and few good friends. I also really enjoyed the two days when then-6 Asher took Nathaniel and me to fish-catching school, catching almost all the fish, and the afternoon I spent with Stephen Browning catching Lake Fork largemouth doubles on tiny tandem rigs.

One of my most noteworthy individual fish came from Fork on the following afternoon when Gary Dollahon and I were trying to catch white bass for photos. Instead of a white bass, my spoon got the attention of an 8-pound largemouth. Also high on that list would be the halibut pictured above. It wasn't even sort of big by halibut standards, but it was still my best halibut, and I was standing in a boat close to a Volcano and in Alaska when I caught it, and that made it mighty memorable!

I'm very thankful for the opportunity to make my living collecting and recording fish stories, and I'm excited to see where the new year's fishing adventures take me!

Colorado Rocky Mountain Ice

Nathaniel has landed a lot of big fish, including a 60-pound blue catfish, but never before had to do so through a 10-inch-wide hole in the ice, using a short, whippy rod and light line, nor has he ever had to keep his line from hitting the edge of the hole and a rod tip from hitting the ice. With the expert coaching of Dave Bryant of Lake Ice USA, Nathaniel handled the task like an old pro. Nathaniel got things going for us only within minutes of drilling our first holes at Lake Antero with a chunky 22-inch rainbow.

We just finished two fabulous days of fishing with the Lake Ice USA team and are getting read to spend a couple of days with Bernie Keefe on Lake Granby. The weather has taken a harsh turn since we arrived, and tonight's forecast is for lows WAY below zero. We came a long distance to catch trout through the ice, though, and we're looking forward to targeting some big lakers on Granby.

More to follow about the whole ice experience, but we've been amazed by the snowy peaks around us, the friendly folks and the unique experience of walking across the lake, drilling holes in ice that's a couple of feet thick and then pulling beautiful colored trout up through those holes.