Pregame jitters

Golden, that's the term Pablo used to describe the conditions we might find on the famed brown sugar creek. With high flows from dam releases necessitated by epic snow fall and subsequent run off, just now coming down and the potential of hungry browns and a salmon fly hatch, the table is set for a memorable outing. Brown sugar has been anathema to me. I've had decent days and I've had mediocre days there, while Pablo and Hondo DeMule have had hopper crushing days of satiation, seems every time I was not in company. A little added pressure comes this year as Jr. The yet unconverted prodigal son will be along, I'm hoping for that magical moment that will transform him from dutiful fishing partner to rabid trout bum, ( well, not too rabid as I am still paying his tuition).

Expectations in this game are a dangerous thing, and I know JB's delusions of gold are more driven by pent up demand from the failed black canyon expedition than any hard data, but what man ever did travel thousands of miles to done waders with out a 49ers pan full of optimism!

So, to the brown sugar gods (last time didn't we catch more rainbows?) I tip my hat and genuflect with the hopes that a trout will rise.

The Best Laid Plans of trout and men

Dang it all to heck! Teeth grinding frustration of the winter from Hades. Why didn't I have more sense than to check the snow pack before booking a flight to Boise back in march for June. I'll tell you why! Because winter does that to a fisherman. It makes him desperate and wildly optimistic at the same time, a heckofa bad combo. Now it's flipping June the summer solstice and there is too much snow to get into big creek. My calendar is a mess, I spent a horrific amount of money on gear for this trip, Wilson help me, wore out an Alaska air visa. Pablo is heading north in a month anyway so this would only be an appetizer for him. I smell the curse of the fish gods settling upon me. It was the Kvichak/ Pongo double haul last year that stoked their displeasure for sure. I figure with Pablos triple haul this summer we'll go down in a fiery ball of float plane against an ungivinuk mountainside, and that will be that. dang it all to heck. My greed has gotten the best of me! I'm being humbled. For the first time in 3 years I will spend July 4th on a merrily decorated golf cart with a pack of octogenarians and toddlers dancing to beach music, lighting sparklers and watching fireworks. Instead of in an airport come or going to the great hatchery of the north country. Dang it all to heck!