Reunited And It Feels...OK

I paid a visit to my Spring love to see if any big Browns had moved in with spawning on their minds.  I did not have high hopes as I knew the water would be low and fishing wouldn't be easy, if there were even any good fish in the stream. 

As I pulled up I was happy that I would be the first and probably the only angler on the water.  With this stream having a reputation for being prime grizzly habitat I decided I'd take two bear sprays with me.  Funny enough at the first spot I stopped to fish I found a brand new can of bear spray in the grass.  There was no decaying body attached to it so I was pretty happy to find a can of $50 bear spray.  Now armed with three cans of spray I figured I was as prepared as I could be for an encounter.

The water was low as expected and many weeds had grown high in the stream, making fishing even more challenging.  I fished a couple of likely spots with not so much as a fish being seen.  Then I watched a 20" Brown follow my streamer not once but twice.  I think he probably bit it once or twice without me feeling it unfortunately.  At least I knew there were a few good fish in the system. 

Shortly after witnessing that fish chase my offering I watched a Brown that would have gone 5lbs race down a run.  Now I knew I'd make a day of it here, even it meant getting skunked.  Luckily that didn't happen.  The first fish was a 17" Rainbow,  which surprised me a bit.  I don't know if it spent the summer in the stream or followed the Browns up out of the lake recently, but it was great to get on the board. 

I kept hard it with no success for a couple of hours.  I got to the spot where I lost a huge Brown in the spring and unfortunately it looked like an entirely different piece of water.  It was so low and slow that I didn't have high hopes I'd move a fish in it at all.  I cast towards a willow and made a few strips, actually taking my eye off what I was doing for a moment.  When I looked back a good Brown was eating my streamer. 

19.5" Brown

She was a beautiful, thick fish.  Surely there would be a few males fighting over the right to spawn with her in the coming weeks. 

As I fished up a little further I hear water being displaced rapidly upstream and look up to see a huge wake in the water.  I wondered if that was a huge Brown or perhaps a beaver.  As I stood and watched, two huge Browns swam by, nipping at each other.  Unfortunately they wouldn't slow down or stop and were gone in an instant.  Each was 22-25". 

Fishing my way out I caught one more Rainbow of 18".  A nice fish and nice to get another one for the day but not what I had come for.  I'm sure the allure of those few big fish will bring me back to see my love again before the season ends in 5 weeks.  While the chances of getting one of the few pigs in the stream are small, I can't resist the challenge...bears and all.