VISITORS RUSH IN
Neighbors Into The Fray
the weekend looks spectacular
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| JUST AS PROUD AS BRONZED BABY SHOES |
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.. Flipping coins to decide if it's elk or trout is a nightly ritual in the man caves and pubs of town... Although fishing will continue after Yellowstone National Park closes - close it will. On the other hand, early hunters have better chances than later stalkers. It's a tough decision.
.. The young lions have already opted for the fur rather than the fin. We old farts are tottering to the park to get in a few last days of thrashing the water and punishing the fish. Codgers, eschew hollofil for wool. They prefer the soft rubbing sounds to the crinkly snapping noise of the synthetics. This is the weekend for wool: musty, aromatic, fragrant, warm-when-wet, wool.
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| Destination For Fall Fishing |
.. The youngsters are hunkered down in the dripping woods with their eyes welded to spotting scopes.
.. The codgers are dodging mud puddles on the way to the rivers. It's a schizoid time of the year: hunt or fish, rain or snow, sun or clouds, cool or cold, truly anxiety producing.
.. The one persistent and constant element in the mix is the cold one at the end of the day. Yet, even that is polarized.
.. Weeks old hoppy beer stands in opposition to years-old malted distillates. Musty wool faces twinkly Dacron. Conversation see-saws between calibers and hook sizes. Jokes and observations alternate between between tales of spine shivering whistles just behind the next tree and wrist rattling takes of sexed-up Brown Trout. The tales, (and tails,) of Fall are in the air and in the pubs.
.. Judging by the conversations of the hunters - it's been good. Judging by the conversations of fishers it's been good and getting better. Fresh fish are still entering the rivers and the low water makes sticking them a cinch - sort of.
.. There is not too much to tell about flies and rods, and fishing locations. Use them all: all fly patterns, all rods that suit your fancy, all locations that you can get to.
.. Sort of like elk hunting: .338 Lapua, .300 Mag., 6.5 x .284, on the flats, in the bottoms, up the mountains, Sako, Savage, Remington, Winchester, Browning, Kimber, Ruger, Marlin, Weatherby, etc.
.. We've got too little energy to do both. Hell, little enough energy to do just one. We'll waddle to the water and stick a fish and wander back home. We'll find the neighbors at the watering hole. We'll listen to the cross-sport conversations. We'll have very little to add. We'll play the memory reel in our head and smile and nod. We will, however, sip with the best of them.
.. We will, also, get up late this weekend and fish the park as it closes.
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| Huntin', Fishin', Climbin', Scramblin' Rig - A Neighborhood Constant. |