Rio On High

I got a text from Rich asking me if I was interested in some fly fishing. Yep, everyone knows the answer to that question. We made plans to visit a stream for the first time this year and I packed my gear accordingly to that stream. As I was packing, I said to myself..."Mike, you better pack another creek rod just in case the intended stream is still in runoff." Good thing, because that stream was rolling high, hard, and fast when we first put eyes on it. No problems, off we go to another mountain Rio.

This tiny Rio we wound up fishing is so narrow, you can literally jump across in most sections of the winding stream. It is thick with willow brush and trees. I was "duck walking" in and out of the willows just to see the water...and kept low on the bank with only one casting option. The bow cast. It did pay off with a couple of pretty wild brown trout. Yeah, I'm not going to talk about how sore my legs and hips are today.

The morning fishing was good and very enjoyable. And then it happened. I was backing out of a thick willow area after releasing a brown trout and I stopped dead in my tracks. Cougar! He was about 40 yards away from me stalking some kind of prey and he looked huge! Actually, he was huge!!! I was frozen when he turned to look at me. Backing up slowly from him, he must have noticed I was no danger to him and he sauntered away. No, I didn't take a photo...I had one hand on my holstered Glock 29 and my other hand holding my Winston as I was backing away. I now know I will not drop and leave a classic Winston fly rod for anything...

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