Out with a Bang

It's been slow going the last few times at the local watering hole. One-good-opportunity-a-trip kind of fishing. Sometimes we capitalize on it, other times it slips away. Earlier this week, a stunning brown trout was the lone reward during a solo mission. A few days later, we missed the only hit between two of us. Regardless of the outcome, the days of open water fishing (not counting our rivers and streams) are coming to a close if you believe the long-term forecast. 

Ice season is finally at our doorstep. With any luck we'll be walking on water in the northwest hills of Connecticut around New Year's Day. But if this fish is my last of 2014, it would be a fitting way to close things out. It was a beautifully-marked, clean male with big shoulders that slammed a live shiner five-feet under the surface. It felt good to watch him swim away. See you next year...