Season Finale, pt. 2

Our venture up north last weekend wasn't really a fishing trip. Most of our days were devoted to hiking. Not too much to say about that, except that the autumn colors were splendid, the trails mostly deserted, and the weather pleasantly cool. I'd love to revisit Higgins Lake State Park near Roscommon in winter for XC Skiing. Saw lots of wonderful grouse cover that I'd like to hunt one of these years, too. One notable wildlife sighting was an Eastern Smooth Green Snake, the first I'd ever seen.

They're fittingly if unimaginatively named creatures.

Monday afternoon I got back on the water. We had moved up to Wolverine on Saturday to a cabin overlooking the Sturgeon river, which has an extended season below the village. It began raining hard at midday Monday, and a bit after three in the afternoon, I headed down to the river to fish in a downpour.

I've had some very productive afternoons fishing in the rain, but Monday wasn't among them. I started fishing at the Scott Road public access, where the river is clear and swift with midstream boulders and deeper bankside runs for cover. I tossed all kinds of streamers and never got a nip. Around four, the rain let up, and I went down stream to the Haakwood state forest campground, where I remembered were some deep bend holes that might offer good nymphing. Once again, I got blanked.

The moment that sticks in my mind from Monday's outing didn't occur on the river itself. At Haakwood, you walk to the river across a wide field, where the grass was now brown and brittle. As I began crossing the field, I looked across to the line of evergreens bordering the Sturgeon and thought, "I'm going down there to finish my season." In itself, the thought wasn't sad or particularly satisfying, but it did bring on recollections of the fine moments I've had on the water this year. Running through those, I couldn't deny that it had been a very good season. Aside from the usual and inevitable scarcity of water time, I could find little to regret about it. It's a shame the rest of life can't fall together so neatly.

And so begins the wait for the last Saturday in April...