Airborne!

I found this picture on Steelheadsite.com. This is the kind of picture every angler wishes he could capture of his catch. I’m usually out on my own. When I have a fish on, my hands are full. I never get a shot like this.  I'm jealous.

Nice fish professor.

Fresh push of chrome

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon.  The river was on the drop after a big blow out and I knew there would be fresh chromers that just pushed in.  I felt the urge to chase chrome.  I hit the river mid afternoon.  The water was still off color, but it was fishable.  I hooked up right away with a supercharged silver bullet that shot out of the water like a bat out of hell.  A little later on, I hooked into a nice chromed up buck.  I had a couple of other hook ups that went on and off.  I talked to a guy swinging big nasties who hadn't had a hook up all day.  Right in front of that guy, I hooked into the last fish of the day and it was a big angry freshy that jumped, thrashed, and broke me off in a violent splashing frenzy.  This fish was pissed; it jumped two or three more times after it broke me off.  Not the way I had hoped to end the day, but it was a good afternoon none the less.

                 Fresh chrome...

                  Purple bugger was money...

The guy that took this was no the best photographer, but hey it was a good fish, right.

Much needed day off

I took off yesterday which was the Friday before my birthday.  I fished from sunrise to sunset, it was a gloriously beautiful day.  It started at 33 degrees at dawn, peaked at 64 degrees in the afternoon.  School has had me all tied up the last few weeks and I haven't gotten out to fish since the last week in October when I had to head home early after filling my waders with 40 degree water.  The reports on the Ohio steelhead streams have been slow, yesterday was no different for me.  The water was low and clear making for tough fishing.  I managed a couple of fish that I really had to work for.  I picked off a small jack just after sunrise, and caught a nice chrome hen in the afternoon.  All in all it was a much needed break from the rigors of law school... in a way it was a last "whora" since it will probably the last time I'll get out before finals, and by then the river's are usually iced over. I saw a bald eagle swoop overhead. It was about twenty feet above me. I've seen one before from a distance, but never this close. It was awesome. They are such beautiful and awe inspiring birds. It is amazing that there are bald eagles in Northeast Ohio. Seeing one of these birds while standing alone on a secluded stretch of the river, it made me feel free in a way that I haven't felt in a long time. It was a moment of appreciation for nature and the sheer beauty of our land and its animals. It made me proud to be an American.
             Frosty field at sunrise

A river sunrise, sun peaks through the trees & mist rises off the water

                   What it's all about...

 I pulled this picture off the web, but the eagle I saw seemed this close.