Today, I had to work a kids fishing derby in the late morning/early afternoon, so it was a busy day.
First, a hearty breakfast (eggs benedict, home fries, coffee) over my newspaper at the Daily Grind.
Then a quick half hour of fishing the South Hoosic in Adams.
About a week ago, the bale on my spinning reel broke off (leaving two "horns" at either end of the reel, where the ends of the bale would fit) - - although I still managed to haul in the 17" small mouth by pulling in the line a foot at a time with my left hand and holding it taut with the thumb and forefinger of my right hand - - and I really like the reel, so I was determined to jury-rig a replacement.
Inspiration struck, and I managed to affix a large paper clip through a hole in one of the two "horns" on the reel (with the other being filled with something like solder), so that, with a bit of manipulation, I can slip the line out of the loop of the paperclip to cast and then slip it back inside the paper clip to reel it in.
Today, I got to test my improvisation, and am pleased to report it worked like a charm.
The weather was beautiful - - sunny, blue skies and about 67 degrees when I hit the stream this morning, although it warmed up another 12 degrees or so later in the afternoon .
I caught two rainbows - - a fine 14" specimen under the Burnett/Bednarz bridge and a 13"er just above the footbridge.
Then it was on to the Pond (stocked with brookies in the 11" to 13" range) for the kids fishing derby, where I helped bait hooks, etc and clean fish until about 1:30 PM.
After the derby, I dropped off a leftover brook trout apiece to two friends who like them, and ran another errand, before heading home to cook an early supper over our fire pit.
The menu consisted of a grilled pork chop in barbecue sauce, boiled baby russet potatoes, stuffed grape leaves with ranch dressing a 25-ingredient salad with Italian dressing, and a glass of homemade amber wine (a blend of cranberry, dandelion, gooseberry, peach, pomegranate and strawberry). And, in a little bit, my family and I plan to walk down to Rainbow Shack to get some icecreams for dessert.
Man, I love these lazy, crazy, hazy days of summer (and technically, it's still spring)!
