Getaway

Sunday afternoon.  Most of the chores were done and I still hadn't dropped the boat in the water.   I decided to make a quick run to the river to see what I could see.  What I saw were midges and mayflies, carp and crappies.  The largemouth were on their beds too skittish to be fished for and peeled off before I could see them.  I found a tree, completely denuded of bark and leaves, creating structure in the soft eddy of an outside bend.  I climbed out on its sturdy trunk and extracted fish.  The bigger bluegills required a deft hoist or they would wrap themselves in the sunken branches.  The crappies were rare but there.  Every once in a while the shadow that followed my fly would inhale instead of pluck and I knew then what it was.  The carp were uninterested.  Completely.  My 6 wt, a few spools of tippet and plastic baby food container loaded haphazardly with some throwaway flies.  Size 12 hare's ear nymphs (unweighted) in case you find yourself heading this way.

The second Bittern of the evening heads out.

Fish food

Redear Sunfish falls for a Hare's Ear

Crappie extracted

Another Crappie about to go back

Minimalism