Trying to beat the rain.

  After a week of on and off rain and little time, I was finally able to get out on the water today.  I headed out this morning to a stretch of Suwanee Creek that I hadn't yet fished.  It was a mostly clear morning, some clouds, but a good enough day to fish (aren't they all?).  The temp was in the low 70s F with a slight breeze signaling the incoming rain for the afternoon.  According to the USGS Water Data site for Suwanee Creek (see the links below for the USGS website), the water temp was about 70° F and flowing 45 cubic feet per minute.  I walked about a half mile northward along the Suwanee Creek Greenway carrying my fishing pole, smoking my pipe and wearing my pack full of gear (and getting funny looks from all the joggers and bicyclists!), before I turned to follow the city's sewer outfall along the creek.  From that point on it was a fight with privet and underbrush.  The telltale signs of the recent flooding were everywhere and numerous, like basketballs stuck in the trees over my head.  I only take my ultralight gear to Suwanee Creek because the banks are so overgrown and the creek depth changes too much to wade.  I found a spot where I could make some decent casts, tied on a Worden's Rooster Tail in the rainbow finish and got down to business.  The privet in this stretch of the creek seemed unusually thick compared to other areas I've fished, so finding a suitable spot to make a cast ended up being quite difficult and time consuming.  In the three and a half hours I spent fishing, I was only able to walk about 500 yards downstream, and it seemed I spent more time walking than fishing.
  Over the course of the morning, I think I fared pretty well.  I was only able to land 3 small fish (one bluegill and two redbreasted sunfish, I think, my ID is still rusty), but I got a lot of strikes.  Using an ultralight rig, even the small fish are fun to land!

One of the two redbreasted sunfish (I think).  First fish of the day, caught on a Joe's Flies Short Striker.

Fish number two the little bluegill.  Caught on a Worden's Rooster Tail.

The last fish landed, the other sunfish.  Caught on a Beetle Bou Maribou Jig.

  It's amazing to me how wild an area can be even though I'm in a suburban area.  Whenever I change lures (or tie on a new one after a snag) I tend to take a short break, step back from the stream, light my pipe and just look around.  It's just a small patch of woods on either side of the creek, but I've seen lots of birds, fat squirrels getting ready for the next weather change and chipmunks scurrying around.  Today I even saw two baby racoons and walked up on a gorgeous horse pasture that I didn't know existed.  Even though I was within sight of the city's sewer outfall and within a few hundred yards of a big industrial park I still feel like I got the calming and restorative effects of spending time with nature.  I recommend you try it.  Look for a small stream in your area and get out there and fight the privet!  Let me know how you do.
         Tight lines and happy fishing.
                              -Nick

Today's Equipment:

Rod: Shakespear Ugly Stik SPL1100 4'8" ultralight rod
Reel: Shimano Sahara 750FB - a hand-me-down from my grandfather
Line: Berkely Trilene XL Smooth Casting 6lb clear
Lures:
Johnson Beetle Bou Marabou Jig 1/32oz ; white & chartreuse
Joe's Flies Short Striker Glo Trout #231 in size 8
Worden's Rooster Tail 1/24oz assorted finishes

Knife:
Kershaw Ken Onion Scallion

Pipe & Tobacco:
Missouri Meerschaum Washington Bent corn cob
MacClelland's Frog Morton's Cellar

Links:
USGS Water Data Site
Worden's Rooster Tail
Joe's Flies
 Johnson's Beetle Bou
Corn Cob Pipes
Frog Morton's Cellar Review