No Jacket Necessary

The red buds were in full bloom along the road to the boat ramp at Yellowwood.

It was one of the early really warm days. I began to work around the shoreline with a bead head leech.

Something round floated by: a brand new turtle. This took me back. I had a succession of turtles just like this one as pets in my childhood. I put this one back in its natural habitat and wished it luck growing old.

The wind was frisky. I made it down the east shore in a juffy.

Just before crossing over I found a nice crappie.

The lake showed signs of the recent thunderstorms. New leaves had been stripped from the trees. Their delicate beauty was short lived but appreciated.

On the west shore I switched to a little muddler dry. There were a few bluegill awake but they were shy.

I got one on a nice popping take.

I fished out the evening without another fish, but it was a lovely evening. I took this photo to mark a milestone of the young season: this was the first evening I didn't need a jacket.