The Stream Dream

For my birthday weekend, I fished yesterday with some fly-fishing buddies, and we had some great luck.

I’m fortunate to be part of a tight circle of anglers, comprised of people obsessed with chasing trout. We often compare notes, share secret fly recipes, and fish together. They’re great guys, too.

As The Grant Study showed, happiness, health, and income are highly correlated with how deep your relationships are with family and friends (prior blog post here). So, I’m fortunate.

Recently, I’ve been making articulated streamers, complicated creations that each requires an hour. The streamers are two flies joined by wire and, together, mimic the S-shaped movements of a fleeing bait fish. They’re designed to trigger predatory instincts in big trout.

My Stream Dream continues to be catching 20″+ wild fish. I’ve done it only once. Fish don’t get that big in our waters unless they’re very leery. Here it is. A 22” beast.

In the autumn, streamer fishing is the way to try and dupe big fish. It’s a low-numbers game. You’re going for quality over quantity. You’re throwing large streamers with a heavy fly rod, which takes a lot of energy. You “go big or go home.”

I’ve been making my own streamers. Thankfully, yesterday, an olive one duped 12 fish. The store-bought streamers accounted for only one. So, there’s a lot to be said for making your own flies. You can weave in some details to show the fish something new.

We went out for family dinner last night, and Mrs. T. today is cooking a birthday dinner and cake.

Family, friends, and fish. Life is good!

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