Sometimes the Trout Gods Smile Upon You

When I headed out this afternoon I was skeptical to say the least because it has been fairly warm for the past 3-4 days and I assumed that the run off would be in full swing. But when I arrived at my favorite trout river I saw that the Trout Gods were smiling upon me. Although the water level was a bit high, the river wasn't muddy yet, which mean that the drift fishing should be pretty good. I pinched a night crawler in half, baited it onto my #10 gang hooks, and began to drift fish. Withing a cast or two I felt the familiar "tap, tap" from a hungry trout, which I proceeded to miss.

 I kept fishing for a half an hour or so, working my way downstream to some green water (in my extensive experience "green" water usually means deeper water that will often hold a hungry rainbow trout are two). Once I positioned myself in an area of the river where I was getting a good drift, I began to fish the stretch of river thoroughly, varying the length of my casts and position of my rod as I fished.

 Withing 10 or so minutes I had another bite and again missed the fish. Oh well, early season rust I guess, then on the next cast I felt the familiar "pull" that often means a bite from a larger trout. This time when I set the hook, I immediately felt weight, yep it was a nice one. I saw the fish flash downstream of me and knew it was a rainbow trout, and a nice one at that. I adjusted my drag and fought the fish for 10 minutes or so before landing her. A beautiful seventeen inch rainbow trout that was as beautiful as any I have ever seen. I revived her, closed my eyes and said a silent prayer to the trout Gods, watched the beautiful rainbow swim away and continued to fish for a while. Does it get any better than this? You know what, if it does, I'd really rather not know about it.