Curtis and Walt

The First Fish

Curtis called a few weeks ago and wanted to set up a trip, but I was already booked for that day. Fast forward a couple weeks ago Curtis sent me an email and said he wanted to get out on the river and he said his friend Walt would be joining us. Curtis is a longtime angler and had booked us a few different times over the past years. This time Curtis and Walt would make a fast trip from Hoover AL to Middle Tennessee for an all day float and return to Hoover that evening. I told Curtis about the current water conditions and we nailed down the particulars of day including rain gear and lunch plans. 

Curtis Was Dialed-In on His Favorite Streamer Pattern

We met at the river and while I ran the shuttle, Curtis and Walt pierced the lips of a group of hatchery brats. Then we pushed the drifter into the flow of a river stained from the previous evening's rainstorm. Curtis had some different rods to try and Walt was warming up, after not having a chance to fish for a couple years. We worked briefly on Walt's casting, but after seeing improvement from just a few instructions I shut up and we fished! Walt hooked up on the nymph while Curtis threw his favorite streamer pattern. 

Walt Rippin' a Lip

It sure didn't take Walt long to hook up with a nice little stocker brown. We have been trying a few different nymph patterns and sizes over the past several trips. The results have been above average with some patterns while others were simply dismissed. Walt dialed in to the right drift and the fish began to respond. Some fish were caught and some were missed, but Walt did a nice job with nymphing. We talked fishing and photography while Curtis fish some moving water. Walt is an outstanding photographer and gave me some pointers on my photos. 

Curtis Hooked Up....Again

In the meantime Curtis was back to his old tricks of casting that streamer. Curtis has a laid back but direct style and his casting mirrors his personality. We stopped at several shoals throughout the morning and Curtis brought fish to hand on every stop. Curtis has the beginnings of the Musky Bug and has already bought a bigger stick to scratch the musky itch. We continued on to the lunch spot and then fired up the grilled and cooked a cedar plank with a salmon on top.

A Walt Stricklin Riverscape

Reviving and Waiting For Release

After lunch we spoke to some folks in canoes and Walt boated a nice rainbow right before we got into their water. It's always nice when an angler catches a fish in front of someone.  We released the rainbow and finished the conversations, then we moved onto one of my favorite pools on the river. We came to a grinding halt on the shoal and the guys started fishing the run and the pool. They caught fish on this stop too and the action made us forget the naps we were discussing after lunch.

The Drifter's Rear View

Caught and Released

We were coming into the homestretch after a good day of catching. The brookies had apparently decided to take over one of the long pools. There were several rise rings showing per minute and the guys were both on streamers. The brookies responded well to Curtis and Walt's retrieves as both pulled brook trout to the net. On the right bank we had an audience. A family of otters (insert river-gophers) were watching us and appeared to be discussing the commotion in the drifter. They let us pass by and then I am pretty sure they had tried their own retrieves on that pool full of brookies, 

Released to Grow Bigger, Hopefully MUCH Bigger

The Guys Scoping Out a Shoal

We pulled into the gravel bar at the ramp and found a guy fishing the small pool where we usually load the boat. He was catching trout and taking them out to the mainstream of the river. It was sort of like trout-rescue and he was doing a great job. We found a spot off to the side and put the drifter on the trailer. Our day of fishing was over for the most part. It was a good day on the river with a good number of fish. Both guys got the slam and we boated a couple other species just for good measure. Then Curtis and Walt got back to their vehicle to finish off their fast trip from Hoover.

Some Brown Trout Goodness