Post by Clipper on Apr 1, 2020 7:20:22 GMT -5
If we still lived in the area I would be bundling up to make my annual trek to the banks of either Oriskany Creek or the West Canada to celebrate the opening day of trout season. Some years the fishing was done in shirt sleeves or a sweat shirt, and some years I walked through snow, wearing a snowmobile suit to get to the creek. Many years the creeks were so swollen with spring runoff that it was a futile mission, but it was with eager anticipation that I went out the door at daybreak anyway.
If I was fortunate enough to catch even one eating sized trout I went home with a smile on my face. If not, I enjoyed a day out in the fresh air, with a sandwich in a brown bag and a thermos of coffee for those warming up breaks in my truck.
So today, while hunkered down and self isolating, my body is here in the house in Tennessee, but my mind is on the banks of an upstate NY trout stream. Not long ago while getting my gun cleaning kit out of my gun cabinet, I ran across my Zippo hand warmers. A half filled fuel reservoir would give me 5 or 6 hours of warming. Perfect for rewarming my hands after tying on a lure, baiting a hook, or after washing my hands in freezing cold creek water after handling a fish. One in each pocket of my hunting jacket made them a great companion while sitting in the woods during deer season also. Seeing the hand warmer awakened those memories of freezing my butt off in pursuit of the wily brown trout. Now I question the very idea of having a fuel burning catalytic heating device in my pockets. lol
If any of you are trout fisherman and are going out today, good luck, and enjoy the day out in nature. No better way to leave worries and troubles behind than to stand along a creek waiting for that tug on the line, and no better April 1st dinner than a nice brown trout or two, sautéed in butter and kissed with the juice of a fresh lemon wedge.
If I was fortunate enough to catch even one eating sized trout I went home with a smile on my face. If not, I enjoyed a day out in the fresh air, with a sandwich in a brown bag and a thermos of coffee for those warming up breaks in my truck.
So today, while hunkered down and self isolating, my body is here in the house in Tennessee, but my mind is on the banks of an upstate NY trout stream. Not long ago while getting my gun cleaning kit out of my gun cabinet, I ran across my Zippo hand warmers. A half filled fuel reservoir would give me 5 or 6 hours of warming. Perfect for rewarming my hands after tying on a lure, baiting a hook, or after washing my hands in freezing cold creek water after handling a fish. One in each pocket of my hunting jacket made them a great companion while sitting in the woods during deer season also. Seeing the hand warmer awakened those memories of freezing my butt off in pursuit of the wily brown trout. Now I question the very idea of having a fuel burning catalytic heating device in my pockets. lol
If any of you are trout fisherman and are going out today, good luck, and enjoy the day out in nature. No better way to leave worries and troubles behind than to stand along a creek waiting for that tug on the line, and no better April 1st dinner than a nice brown trout or two, sautéed in butter and kissed with the juice of a fresh lemon wedge.