It was another beautiful day of winter solitude on the Root. Having expected temps in the high 20s, I was delighted when I arrived and the gauge read 32. While getting into my waders and preparing my gear, a family pulled up and got out to look at the water, they appeared to be from out of town. The father walked over and commented, “Man, horrible day for fishing eh.” I replied, “Really? For me this is an awesome day!” He seemed genuinely surprised at my response, and commented that it was bad when compared to 60 degrees. I couldn’t disagree, I guess, and left it at that. I soon was into the water and began to hike further upstream to explore some spots I had noted on google earth this morning. As I hiked, I thought about how interesting it is that two people can be put in the same exact situation, but have incredibly different experiences nonetheless. I concluded that the key is gratitude. While the gentleman I met had considered it a poor day to be outdoors because he was comparing it to a nice summer day, I was grateful to have such a day to fish because I was comparing it to a 10-degree day, or to a crowded summer day on the river when it is tougher to find solitude, or to being in Illinois where there are no mountains or cold trout streams at all. Truly we have the power to experience beauty in all situations, if only we can learn true gratitude for what we have been given. That is something easier said than done, but a truth which I have experienced first-hand.

Fishing conditions were about as ideal as possible for a day of winter nymphing, I even caught a couple of fish by stripping streamers. The cutthroat spawning season must be around the corner, as I caught a couple of very large and pregnant fish, although I did not notice any fish preparing redds yet. Water clarity was excellent, and fishing was consistent for the entire afternoon. Today’s pound for pound fighter of the day award goes to this guy, don’t let his size fool you, he nearly pulled me in:

I even ran into some surface action on midges for about 5 minutes, the duration of which I spent trying to untangle my leader, eventually cutting it off and starting over completely. Of course, by this time, the fish were no longer rising. Classic Aric.