I’ve long said that I really enjoy fishing in winter. It’s quiet, it’s never crowded, the scenery is beautiful all covered in snow and the fishing can be good. Can being the operative word. Most of the time it’s cold and cloudy and miserable and just an excuse to get out of the house for a few hours and go catch a couple hard earned fish. But some days… Some days really do live up the hype.
Monday, Ethan and I headed down to Three Dollar to meet up with Kailey Paxin, a young fisherwoman who I met over the summer. We’d been talking about fishing for months, but never were able to meet up until now. The weather was calling for a nice day, and I just needed to get out of town too. Driving through the Madison Valley as the sun rises over the snowy peaks is worth getting up early on your day off for.
The sun was shining on us as we walked down to the river. There were hardly any tracks in the snow, so hopes were high it would be a good day. Right away Ethan hooked up. And again, and again. So it seemed to be all day. It reached a point where he had a fish on almost every cast. It was crazy. By days end, we had all lost count of how many fish, but reasonable estimates put the tally between 20-25. Not bad for January.
I was able to pick up a few here and there, but was busy with the camera most of the day. Kailey saved a skunk with a beautiful rainbow in the last pool. It’s a good day when everyone catches something. And I do have to say… You can learn a hell of a lot more about the character of a new fishing partner on days when the fishing is tough. I was really impressed with her cheerful attitude all day, even as we caught almost nothing and watched Ethan haul fish in hand over fish. It’s hard to find people like that.
Why was he catching so many? It could be that he’s a better angler (?), but I am also a firm believer in the idea that everyone has those days when the mojo is on and they can do no wrong. He could have been fishing a giant pink grasshopper and kept catching fish that day. On the drive back to Bozeman we were talking about it, and agreed that on days like that just sit back and enjoy it because it won’t last forever.
The sun was out and the weather was warm all day, and I can’t speak for my friends but I sure needed a day like that. Out of the house, in the great outdoors, in the fresh air. A reminder that winter isn’t really all that bad.
