Georgia Trout Season -- Opening Without Me

Considering that it's already 4:30, and I have more things that I want to do than hours of daylight left, it seems unlikely that I'll take part in Opening Day of trout season by trying to catch a trout or two. That's OK. One major advantage of being self-employed is that I can hit a creek on a Tuesday or a Wednesday, when fewer other folks are out there.

In truth, many of my favorite streams -- in Georgia, in North Carolina and farther way -- are open year 'round, so I don't give a lot of thought to trout season. I also think Georgia's trout opener has become less of an event than it once was, in part due to the popularity of delayed-harvest streams and other rivers that remain open and continue to offer very good fishing throughout the cool months.

That said, popular seasonal streams throughout the mountains were very well stocked at daylight this morning, when they opened to fishing once again. I'm confident that hundreds of sportsmen spent fun days catching trout, and that many of the same folks will enjoy trout for dinner tonight. Some will fry them at home. Many will cook them over a fire at a campsite near the creek where they will caught.

I have to admit that writing about Georgia trout streams makes me think a little more about grabbing one of my children and heading for the Soque River or Wildcat Creek for a couple of hours, but I'm still guessing that evening will arrive before that will ever happen. More trout for everyone else, I suppose.