Been heads down at work. A big project I've been on for almost a year is finally showing real results, which is its own kind of reward. I won't go into specifics. Outside of that, here's what the year has actually looked like.
January meant Florida. Not a trip I chose. By default I ended up down there and it wasn't fun, but I was able to sneak out a few times.
First snook on a fly, under the dock lights.
Going from the brutal New Hampshire cold and the four o'clock darkness straight into shorts, sun, and a beach was euphoric. I'd forgotten what light felt like.
Back at the vise when I got home.
A lot of bench time. I won't go into the patterns themselves, but I've spent more hours behind a vise this winter than any other I can remember.
The second Florida trip came at the end of the month. This one I actually had time to relax on.
Difficult cast deep into the mangroves. Last cast of the trip netted this snook
Most of March was weekends on the Swift, grinding to squeeze a single trout into the net. Mostly I tied flies and stared at maps.
This is a small ML project I've been picking at on the side. Nothing to share yet, but the early results are a little scary good especially compared to some of the drainages in the pemi basin that aren't well known that I know as killer. A proper writeup will come when it's more online.
Opening day brought what opening day always brings.
One of a million pellet heads I slammed in the first couple of weeks. Dumb fun. Not complaining.
Once it warmed up I started fishing the warmwater behind my house on the 3wt whenever I had the time. Probally what I do most of the time. Still looking for a big largemouth.
One day on the float, north country. Conditions lined up. Between me and my buddy we put about twenty trout in the net and the smallest of the bunch was an eighteen-inch brown. It was the kind of day you start telling people about while you're still on the water.
Two-foot rainbow. Pretty sure this will be a high water mark for the season
We doubled up with a rainbow and a brown
Doubled up with browns
Incredible day.