7/17/09 Rainbow Trout and Chipmunks

We made plans last week to return to Meramec Springs Park to try our hand at trout fishing.

Our cooler was packed and we were out the door a little after eight. We knew it was going to be a hot one so we packed plenty of beer and Pepsi's. Of course, the sun rising is a good enough reason for us to pack the cooler with beer and Pepsi's.

So we arrive at the park and Bob went in to get his fishing license. On the ride to the park I decided I wouldn't get a license right away, that I would rather watch Bob for awhile to see if the fish were even biting.

We noticed right off that there were a lot more people fishing today than there were last week.

It was H O T today! I wanted to jump in that water so bad!

Bob walked the banks of the waterway watching the other people fish for awhile to see if he could see what they were using for bait. Worms just don't work here and it seems everyone was using something different. Some were pulling fish out one after the other and some weren't getting anything. While he was doing that I sat in the shade with the book I brought.

He finally decided to try his luck. Bob has not ever been trout fishing before so this is a first for him. Here's Bob, he is the one standing in the forefront.

I wish I could tell you that he caught fish right away but that was not the case. He tried several different kinds of bait and I even went to the park store to buy some purple dough stuff he wanted to try but they weren't biting on that either. Frustrated does not even begin to describe his state of being as those all around him were pulling them in one after the other. Well, not ALL were pulling them in but the majority were. I had a feeling it was going to be a long day.

I sat and read my book, glad that I didn't get a license after all since I would be using the same bait he was and I couldn't see both of us being frustrated. I sat in front of this little pool that had a small waterfall and the sound of it was very relaxing.

Doesn't this cool you off just looking at it?

Bob trying his luck at yet another spot.

It is hard to watch the fish just swim by your hook and bait. Maybe this crystal clear water isn't such a good thing after all.

A noise in the distance caught my attention and when I looked up from my book I saw Bob motion to me to look upstream,,,,or maybe it was downstream. I couldn't see anything from where I was sitting so I grabbed the camera and went for a walk in search of the "noise".

The stream beds are home to all kinds of underwater plants which shelter the fish and they feed on them. Left to their own accord they would grow right out of the water. In this particular place the water is about four feet deep so you can see how clean this water is.

It seems today is the day that the park rangers cut this underwater growth to keep it manageable.

Two rangers were in very small boats with what looked electric chain saw blades attached to the front of the boats. They could lift and lower the blades whenever they needed to. Methodically, they went up and down the stream cutting the underwater plant life.

It left quite a mess on the top of the water with each pass they made and needless to say there was no fishing in the area they were in.

The water was flowing pretty quickly so it didn't take long for the area they cut to clear. I did get a chance to talk to this woman who works for the park.

She said to tell Bob to go further up/down the stream where it had already cleared because the fish were probably biting now. It seems they go into a feeding frenzy when this is done because all kinds of micro-organisms are released when they do this task.

I went back to where Bob was and told him what the ranger said. He was ready to try anything since we were five hours into this day and he still hadn't had so much as a nibble. It was a little bit of a hike to where she recommended Bob go so I opted to sit in a grove of tall trees, out of the sun, and just read my book. I was way past the point where I was ready to pack it in. It was incredibly hot but Bob wasn't ready to give up yet.

While waiting for Bob I strolled to another area hoping to find a breeze. I settled in on yet another bench and before long I had a visitor.

I watched this cute little chipmunk search for food and was glad for him (her?) when he/she found this dough ball someone had dropped.

It was while watching this little sample of park wildlife that I noticed this tree. All the others grew straight and tall, I wonder what happened to this one.

So what seems like HOURS have passed and I made my way back to the grove of trees where I last saw Bob. I was totally engrossed in my book when I heard this sound like someone clearing their throat. I didn't pay it any mind. Then I heard it again, and again and I finally looked up. There was Bob with a handful of rainbow trout! He had caught three!

He was ready to give up and call it a day when he looked down and saw a small piece of bright orange rubber worm laying on the ground. He figured nothing he used so far had worked so he decided to try it. He told me his line hit the water and within a minute he had a fish. He threw his line back in and waited just a few minutes and he had the second one and it didn't take him long to get the third. Do I need to tell you was grinning from ear to ear?

Now they have to be cleaned. Bob has several fillet knives but do you think there was one in the truck on this particular day? NOOOOOOOO! Off to the park store we go to get a fillet knife. That purchased and it was back to the cleaning stations. It didn't take long for him to clean them and soon we were on our way. The wind coming through the windows felt so good!

Bob got out the grill as soon as we got home and cooked all three. He gave one to a neighbor of ours who raved about the "fresh" fish and Bob ate the other two. I'm not a fish eater. He thoroughly enjoyed his dinner!

Since it was so hot we didn't even venture outside and instead spent our evening watching TV.

A long, hot day, but worth it just to see the smile on his face after landing his first rainbow trout.