Talk about ironies...before my trip I put up a post waxing fondly about tent camping, only to return to my tent one night last week and find my rain fly slashed, the door unzipped, and my gear moved around. Nothing was stolen, curiously, though there wasn't much in there worth taking (unless someone was really, really desperate for clean socks). I have no idea what happened. It wasn't an animal, since I don't think animals open zippers or swivel picnic tables around which is another wierd detail of the "crime scene." There were strange tire tracks leading into my campsite too.
I was kind of freaked, and being the only person in the campground, I didn't really want to spend the night there in case whoever it was came back. So...I decamped (literally) to a motel. An overeaction, maybe, but it seemed reasonable enough standing in the woods at midnight with a freshly ransacked tent.
Part of my reason for camping was to spare expenses...but I ended up paying for 2 nights in a motel...and will be on the hook for a new tent now, too. The rain fly is beyond repair, though the rest of the tent is fine, so long I'm guaranteed to camp in dry weather. Which is not a very safe bet in Michigan.
As for the fishing...Tuesday the 28th was cold (highs 50s), stopped at the South Branch Au Sable in the afternoon and found a decent BWO hatch in progress. Caught a few brook trout, though they were kind of picky. Lots of short strikes. A few cahills popped in the evening, though nothing rose to them. No hex.
Wednesday I fished the Manistee below M72. Isos, cahills, Dorsata stoneflies, and sulfur spinners were on the water before sunset with a little feeding taking place, though I held off casting to avoid spooking any good size fish before the hex came on. My patience went unrewarded, though. Hex showed overhead around 9:20--it was cooling fast, and just a few, sporadic feeders showed. I caught one 15" brown, missed a couple of other strikes, and by 10 of 10, the fun was over.
Thursday I went above M72, saw loads of hex in the air, but none on the water, and no rises. At least while scouting for fishing spots that afternoon I found some ripe blueberries--never seen them that early before. So still a landmark outing of sorts.
Friday afternoon I put the books aside and went up to Deward to see if afternoon clouds would bring on the olives and stir the brookies to feed. I've had some great afternoons there in midsummer with these little bugs, but this wasn't one of them. Just a few bugs out, with just a few trout brought to hand. In the evening I went below 72 again, stayed to 11, never saw a bug.
So the limbata fest was kind of a bust this year. Bring on the Huron river hex (autocadatra) and white fly action with smallmouth!
2 comments:
Eek - that's a bit scary! I have camped a lot but never alone, and I don't think I'd be quite brave enough. And I would have "decamped" to the motel, too.
Good call - some distance between you and the tent-cutting person.
Post a Comment