Cold Hands on the Blue

Photo Stolen From Courtesy of Examiner.com

When I woke up at 7:30 yesterday morning, I debated whether or not to look outside. I knew it was going to be cold and snowing. After about ten minutes, I decided to check anyway. Outside, I saw sunny weather and 60 degree temperatures. Shit! That meant my ride was probably already on its way. Cursing and tripping around the house, I gathered some warm clothes and fishing gear. Luckily, my ride was also a little late, so it worked out perfectly.

A little over an hour later, we arrived at the top of the Blue River in Silverthorne. Now it was snowy, windy, and cold; more like I had expected. I hopped in, armed with a mysis shrimp pattern and a size 24 Top Secret midge. I picked out a riffle and started casting. Within ten minutes, my reel was singing and I had a nice 16 inch rainbow in the net. I hammered fish for the rest of the morning, catching 15 fish between 14 and 22 inches. The best part came during my last fish. This bright red, 19 inch rainbow was swimming at my feet, with the mysis in his mouth. I reached down to grab him, and he shot off once more. The trailing midge managed to find its way into my left thumb, and broke off. The fish was still on, so I fought him while trying to push the fly out of my thumb. After the fish had been released, I sat down on the bank to keep working on the fly. Luckily, the 20 degree weather allowed the hook to slide both in and out of my thumb with no pain. Victory for the cold fingers!