Flowers and Fish

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in St. Paul, with sunny skies and a high in the mid 60s. I had a little time in the evening, so I decided to take a walk down to the river and fish for a little. I've tried a couple times in the last few weeks, but the water was still pretty cold, so I don't think the smallmouth were active yet.

On my way down the bank I recognized a plant with a distinctive three-lobed leaf. It was a species we studied in my botany class this fall, and I remembered that it's usually one of the first flowers to bloom in the spring. I looked a little more closely and saw one small pink flower poking out of the dead leaves on the forest floor.

Anemone acutiloba 

I took the flower sighting as a good sign and made my way down the steep bluff to the shore. The wind was starting to pick up, but the spot I chose to fish is a relatively sheltered cove where a storm drain empties into the river.  I tied on a size 8 beadhead streamer and a short leader to help with casting in the wind.

At first all I caught was the bottom, which is exciting at first...until you feel dead weight on the other end. A few casts later I felt my line stop again, but this time I felt movement on the other end. The fish pulled hard, and it took a solid minute to get it in. I love trout, but sometimes it's fun to catch something that can really pull.

I moved to the other side of the cove so I could get a better angle to cast to the spot where water from the storm drain enters. My first cast fell short, so I cast again. I've found that early season bass tend to take the fly as it initially falls or on the first pause, so I wanted to get the fly right where I thought the fish would be. The second cast was right on the money, and a second later I saw my line tip dart underwater. I pulled up and saw a bright flash in the water. This fish fought even harder, even taking line off my reel at one point. I had to scramble over rocks to get to a spot I could land it, but I managed to keep it on the line. This fish was about 16" and probably around 2 pounds.

That was all I got, but it was a great way to end the day.