Ten Minutes Away

Today's post isn't a foray to elicit a visceral response as much as it is a celebration of how simple the enjoyment of fly fishing can be.And I suspect the pictures are of more interest than my moderation. 

Due to commitments and conflicting schedules, the plans fish a river that is relatively unexplored by your author had to be shelved.

Fortunately within about ten minutes of my front door I can find a modicum of solitude in a small creek that is overlooked by most. My only companions this weekend were a few deer, a young raccoon, a gray fox and some feisty small water fish.

This kind of water is perfect for my little 6 foot 4wt Lamiglass rod, custom made by the Old Yankee Rodsmith. Casting is not for the faint of heart...in some cases the only chance is a bow and arrow cast.
The fish are generally not going to make any record books (not that I care about record books anyway), but they are breathtakingly beautiful.

The fish can be very selective at times, but this weekend they seemed content to smash a Hare's Ear and a black over gray Cat's Whisker. I usually only changed flies after losing one to the trees from an errant back cast. 

As the sun dipped low, I changed over to a black foam micro popper. The supple glass rod was just the ticket for snaking the fly through an opening in the trees onto a flat section of water. I caught fish until I yielded the water to a snake who was looking for dinner. Which reminded me that I had dinner and a welcome waiting for me...ten minutes away.