Journey Into Spring: April 22, 2019

Red bud is popping, a true wonder of Spring. Dogwood is close behind, and wildflowers carpet the warming ground. A few fish are looking up.

Clear Creek Redone

Time to see how Clear Creek is faring. It was surely not immune to the rains and high water of recent weeks.

The crossing at the rapids had a big tree in it last season but now it's gone.

Oh, there it is, down in the middle of the wide slow water.

The fisherman's trail on the other side isn't grown over yet. Wild flowers still display their bright colors in the carpet of green.

The fungi are having a good spring.

There used to be a fallen tree here, too. It seemed immovable through the two seasons I've fished here. Now it has disappeared into thin air.

Oh, here it is. It rolled up on top of two or three other trees already lodged against some standing trees.

I fish this section. This is where I've caught most of my smallmouth. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems that the spate smoothed out all the potholes and runs and boulders. Maybe the smallies will still find some satisfactory lies. But they weren't there this time.

There's a new blow down. I wonder where it will end up.

I make my way down toward the island and the pretty little run.

Again, it might be my imagination, but it seems the run is diminished. It used to drop off of the gravel and rock bar into a long deep chute. Now it looks like the gravel and rocks have been pushed over into the chute.

It's the same on down where the stream makes a wide bend at the foot of the island. It used to sweep right to left making a fine current seam between the fast run on the right and the deep slower water on the left. Now it has been evened out. I'll reserve judgment on this change. I never caught anything here before. Maybe this change will change my luck, too.

Time to slog out.

I stopped at the wide slow stretch under the ridge and cast a little muddler to some little rises. My guess is chubs. They whacked the fly hard but they were too small to hook up.

We've had more rain since I was there. Maybe I'll find yet another stream when I go back again.

Signs of Life Everywhere

Off to Griffy for another adventure with Sebastian. It's a beautiful day and we put in some time getting serious about catching a fish.

But alas, we can't get even a nibble. No one else has been having much luck there either. Sebastian begins to dig deeper into one of his favorite topics: the relationship between rocks and water.

He pulls a big rock out from the shoreline. He's about to throw it to see how big a splash it will make when he notices something curious.

He calls me over to take a look. What are those gelatinous orbs attached to the underside?

We think they're frog's eggs. I begin to tell him what I know about the life cycle of frogs and am pleased to hear that they've already talked about that at his preschool. I say he can throw it in now if he wants but he carefully puts it back where he found it.

We decide to hike and while I'm packing up the fishing gear he responds to some ancient archetypal urge in the human spirit and leaves his mark on the rock. Signs of life everywhere.

Spring continues to unfurl in the woods.

Sebastian is patient while I stop to take photos.

He even helps me look for new wild flowers and finds the prize of the day: red trilliums.

We head for the truck and now I have to be patient while Sebastian pursues the art of climbing. 

I think maybe someday he'll make it back to the truck and never touch the ground.

Keep On Trying

Sebastian and I take another chance to go fishing. This time we go to Yellowwood. We're optimistic: we have beemoths this time! We hike up the dam and come up on a beautiful view--and a stiff chilly breeze blowing right in our faces.

That's disappointing. Every time I've been there this spring the wind was out of the south, but now it's out of the north. It keeps blowing the bobber back into the weeds. We stick with it for awhile then give up and head for the trail.

Sebastian is off like a shot.

I lag behind looking for wildflowers.

We hike back out and decide to go down to the spillway. It's one of his favorite places.

The sound of rushing water goes well with the early spring day.

Many rocks are thrown. Sebastian has recently learned about skipping rocks. I limber up and get a nice flat piece of shale to skip five times. I think he's impressed.

Many dandelion boats are launched, some for the pleasure of seeing them sail away and some to be used as targets.

Before we know it, it's way past time to go get some lunch.

After lunch we have one more thing on our agenda: hit the park.

He keeps me busy for awhile, then makes friends with another kid and runs around with him until it's time to go.

I'm trying to steer him to the truck when he looks over at a climbing tower and says "I want to try again to get to the top." He had tried earlier and given up. Too "slippery."

Now he grabs on and goes. No stopping and thinking about it too long this time. Before you know it he's way up there.

He's been having fun all along but this really makes his day.

Nice going, kid!