Yesterday I worked a kid's fishing derby at a private pond stocked with a lot of small 9" to 11") rainbows.
The temps were around 70, with showers off and on during the course of the day.
But despite the wet weather, the event was pretty well attended (about 30 kids and their families), and everyone seemed to have a good time.
My main task was to clean the fish that the kids caught, but occasionally I would cast and hook one so that a few of the smaller kids would get the chance to reel it in.
After the derby, I stayed and fished a while to catch and keep a few trout.
I gave a couple fish apiece for two of my friends who like trout but don't fish, and kept one for myself, which I cooked over my fire pit and ate for dinner along with boiled lambs quarters with vinegar, a boiled potato with sour cream, and a glass of dandelion wine.
Today, a buddy of mine and my younger son drove over to Hoosick Falls to fish the Hoosic for Free Fishing Day in NY.
(Actually, yesterday was a Free Fishing Day in NY as well, but I couldn't go due to the kids fishing derby)
The day was sunny, warm (about 80) and very muggy.
The stream was high and chocolate colored due to all the rain we had the past two days, so it wasn't much of a surprise that we didn't get any hits, much less catch any fish.
We took the opportunity to drive a bit further down stream to check out Buskirk and Eagle Bridge (where the Hoosic supposedly transitions from a trout stream to a small mouth fishery), but didn't have any luck there either.
We headed back to Hoosick Falls and had a late lunch at Brown's Brewery, where I had a portabello sandwich with onion rings and a glass of English Special Bitters.
Then we headed back east - - but, before heading home, we were intent on catching at least a few fish, so I proposed that we head to the private pond where the derby was held yesterday.
Fortunately, the fish in the pond proved more obliging than the ones in the Hoosic - - so we ended up catching about 30 fish between us (with my son landing the lion's share on a spinner), and were able to release all but two of them unharmed.
