rbaileydav
10-11-2009, 11:11 PM
Wyoming Final Chapter -- Peace on Earth
I awoke to start our last full day in the wilderness around Jackson Hole with a deep sense of contentment. Fishing and scenery had filled my soul, the sleeping bag was warm against the autumn chill of the morning air and the sound of the river echoed in the distance. That feeling of contentment just grew as I unzipped my tent and found this scene waiting for me
http://inlinethumb45.webshots.com/21740/2022551630038253715S500x500Q85.jpg
http://inlinethumb64.webshots.com/40767/2140202560038253715S500x500Q85.jpg
I cooked a big order of oatmeal, one of the few meals I can successfully cook ……… and took my time getting rigged for the days fishing. With the sun now bright and intense I could actually hear the hoppers tuning up and instinctively knew that hopper dropper was the right choice of the day. My first cast of the day managed a fish and my spirits soared like the water rushing at my feet.
http://inlinethumb41.webshots.com/9064/2566896420038253715S500x500Q85.jpg (please note I am aware that posing fish on rocks and sand is not good for fish survival and will work on not doing that in the future)
I was relaxed enough to snap a few scenery shots to help me burn the magic of the morning into my dizzy vertigo plagued brain. Sometimes the majesty of the mountains, the beauty of the stream and the peace that settles over me when I am blessed enough to be part of it, erases all of the worry and trouble from my mind and eases me into a world of pure contentment. This part of the world is known for its “big sky” but the term doesn’t do it justice on a day when the sun is warm and soft and the sky is so blue it pulls your troubles out of your heart and turns them loose on the wings of the wind that gusts down the valley. A valley so big and so open and so perfect that a man just has to relent and release his worries simply because you realize how utterly and truly small and insignificant they are in the face of grandeur on this scale ……… my small personal problems and struggles seem to be simply swallowed by the sun, the sky, the wind and washed away on the sparkling waters of the river.
http://inlinethumb05.webshots.com/45572/2388046720038253715S500x500Q85.jpg
http://inlinethumb46.webshots.com/29101/2421809210038253715S500x500Q85.jpg
http://inlinethumb06.webshots.com/46277/2967831780038253715S500x500Q85.jpg
I continued on in this almost meditative trance until I stumbled around a bend in the river and saw this hole of water. All peaceful whims of sight and scenery were dashed to the back reaches of my mind as “serious fishing” flashed forefront…….. the magic of the scenery is great and all……… but the magic of a beautiful hole and beaconing fish……… well now that is truly priceless ………..as you guys can obviously see ………
http://inlinethumb41.webshots.com/44264/2793311230038253715S500x500Q85.jpg
And serious fishing was the order of business for the next four hours or so. The hopper dropper was a perfect ticket and I caught more fish than I could count. Big solid strong cutt’s rising with reckless abandon on high floating dries, fish with beautiful colorings and markings, which bent my blonde 4 wt to the cork time after time. Leaving me smiling to the soul as I watched them swim away from my hand, back to the blue green depths of the river’s current. I caught so many fish that when I broke the dropper off, I didn’t even bother to re-tie it back on… and for me that means an obscene number of fish came to hand that afternoon.
http://inlinethumb07.webshots.com/26438/2402144040038253715S500x500Q85.jpg
I awoke to start our last full day in the wilderness around Jackson Hole with a deep sense of contentment. Fishing and scenery had filled my soul, the sleeping bag was warm against the autumn chill of the morning air and the sound of the river echoed in the distance. That feeling of contentment just grew as I unzipped my tent and found this scene waiting for me
http://inlinethumb45.webshots.com/21740/2022551630038253715S500x500Q85.jpg
http://inlinethumb64.webshots.com/40767/2140202560038253715S500x500Q85.jpg
I cooked a big order of oatmeal, one of the few meals I can successfully cook ……… and took my time getting rigged for the days fishing. With the sun now bright and intense I could actually hear the hoppers tuning up and instinctively knew that hopper dropper was the right choice of the day. My first cast of the day managed a fish and my spirits soared like the water rushing at my feet.
http://inlinethumb41.webshots.com/9064/2566896420038253715S500x500Q85.jpg (please note I am aware that posing fish on rocks and sand is not good for fish survival and will work on not doing that in the future)
I was relaxed enough to snap a few scenery shots to help me burn the magic of the morning into my dizzy vertigo plagued brain. Sometimes the majesty of the mountains, the beauty of the stream and the peace that settles over me when I am blessed enough to be part of it, erases all of the worry and trouble from my mind and eases me into a world of pure contentment. This part of the world is known for its “big sky” but the term doesn’t do it justice on a day when the sun is warm and soft and the sky is so blue it pulls your troubles out of your heart and turns them loose on the wings of the wind that gusts down the valley. A valley so big and so open and so perfect that a man just has to relent and release his worries simply because you realize how utterly and truly small and insignificant they are in the face of grandeur on this scale ……… my small personal problems and struggles seem to be simply swallowed by the sun, the sky, the wind and washed away on the sparkling waters of the river.
http://inlinethumb05.webshots.com/45572/2388046720038253715S500x500Q85.jpg
http://inlinethumb46.webshots.com/29101/2421809210038253715S500x500Q85.jpg
http://inlinethumb06.webshots.com/46277/2967831780038253715S500x500Q85.jpg
I continued on in this almost meditative trance until I stumbled around a bend in the river and saw this hole of water. All peaceful whims of sight and scenery were dashed to the back reaches of my mind as “serious fishing” flashed forefront…….. the magic of the scenery is great and all……… but the magic of a beautiful hole and beaconing fish……… well now that is truly priceless ………..as you guys can obviously see ………
http://inlinethumb41.webshots.com/44264/2793311230038253715S500x500Q85.jpg
And serious fishing was the order of business for the next four hours or so. The hopper dropper was a perfect ticket and I caught more fish than I could count. Big solid strong cutt’s rising with reckless abandon on high floating dries, fish with beautiful colorings and markings, which bent my blonde 4 wt to the cork time after time. Leaving me smiling to the soul as I watched them swim away from my hand, back to the blue green depths of the river’s current. I caught so many fish that when I broke the dropper off, I didn’t even bother to re-tie it back on… and for me that means an obscene number of fish came to hand that afternoon.
http://inlinethumb07.webshots.com/26438/2402144040038253715S500x500Q85.jpg