I was back in GWNF for a few hours on Superbowl Sunday. The recent rain and snow melt had raised the water level over a foot since my last trip, the water was still a milky green, but no longer looked like a mud milkshake.
There was still snow and iced up trees, but that was melting at a pace that caused it to "rain" in the woods although the sky was clear. I tried hand tied and commercial jigs because the water was still cold, but the visibility was only about 24". I looked for a sunny spot around a bend and switched to spinners.
The second hole I fished allowed two jumping rainbows within a few casts of each other. Here is a 12 incher which I took home for dinner. The second fish was a 13 incher I released without removing it from the water. Just above the head riffle I had one come in charging hard, almost right to my feet. I didn't see him until the last minute because of the low visibility, there was no where for me to put my spinner - it dropped to the bottom 14" inches from the tip that was just above the water's surface. I could have tapped the trout on the head, but he eyeballed it for a second, then turned and vaporized into a hole. There was no bringing him back up. I walked a bit further up stream and cast another dozen times, then headed for the road to walk back to the car. I was only there a few hours, but I realized how much I had missed it. I'm also glad to have the camera back.
I was back in GWNF for a few hours on Superbowl Sunday. The recent rain and snow melt had raised the water level over a foot since my last trip, the water was still a milky green, but no longer looked like a mud milkshake. 
There was still snow and iced up trees, but that was melting at a pace that caused it to "rain" in the woods although the sky was clear. I tried hand tied and commercial jigs because the water was still cold, but the visibility was only about 24". I looked for a sunny spot around a bend and switched to spinners.
The second hole I fished allowed two jumping rainbows within a few casts of each other. Here is a 12 incher which I took home for dinner. The second fish was a 13 incher I released without removing it from the water. Just above the head riffle I had one come in charging hard, almost right to my feet. I didn't see him until the last minute because of the low visibility, there was no where for me to put my spinner - it dropped to the bottom 14" inches from the tip that was just above the water's surface. I could have tapped the trout on the head, but he eyeballed it for a second, then turned and vaporized into a hole. There was no bringing him back up. I walked a bit further up stream and cast another dozen times, then headed for the road to walk back to the car. I was only there a few hours, but I realized how much I had missed it. I'm also glad to have the camera back.
