There I Was…
“What the heck am I doing?” I asked myself aloud, not for the first or last time that day. My cold, winter-cracked fingers bled as I attempted to tie the size 18 Pink Reece’s Fusion nymph to my tippet, turning the pink ostrich herl a dark shade of crimson.
Earlier today, as I sipped my morning coffee in front of the fireplace, I glanced at the weather station on the mantle. 13 Below zero. For you armchair mathematicians out there, that’s 13 less than nothing. In other words, it was bitter cold. Awesome weather for a rare day off… As is usual for my days playing hooky from work, I was faced with a choice: Do something productive around the house that would generally improve my existence and gain the approval and admiration of my lovely wife; or, get outside and participate in some sort of tomfoolery under the guise of a “mental health” day. In this case, it was either clean out the fridge or go fishing. Needless to say, I shirked my duties and the option of being a responsible husband and headed for the gear room to plan my assault.
Normally, I’d get right after it… However, given the degree of winter chill outside (or lack of degrees, as it were), I took it upon myself to have another cup of coffee, awaiting the promise of the high temperature of 26. This is of course based on government weather websites which I should have been wearier of, given the source… After the 3rd cup of super caffeinated coffee, I hopped in the Tahoe at the crack of 11 am.
The entire way to the river, my thermometer on my rearview registered temps below zero. “This is crazy,” I said to myself over and over. It was a perfectly good day to be inside… Too cold for any sane person to to be outside, anyway. Hunting season is over, tags have been filled (mostly), and its COLD out there! What would convince a seemingly rational person to go fly fishing inside an Arctic deep freeze? I reckon its the beginnings of cabin fever and the lack of natural interaction in my life the last month or so. I’ve not been outside, really outside, since the end of November. The river was calling, and I had to go, weather be damned.
That kept the pedal down as I rounded the Northeastern side of Boysen. The Owl Creeks were shrouded in the armor of clouds, their normally robust stature muted by the low hanging ceiling. The lake has frozen solid since my last foray into the canyon, the ice a vast snow-covered tundra stretching on for miles.
As I progressed to my favorite hole, the winter landscape was surreal. The freezing fog of the previous two mornings made the entire world crystalline, ready to disintegrate into nothing with the slightest touch or breath of wind. The rearview indicated that the world I was in was a neutral and sterile zero. Nothingness. My Buddhist Aunt would have loved it.
Upon reaching the pullout, I prepared to face the reality of my decision. A hardboiled egg, some antelope jerky (procured several months ago from area 75, only a couple miles away), and a slug of Crown Royal whiskey provided the final layer of warmth against the biting cold. After getting my proverbial act together, amazingly the clouds split, allowing a narrow ray of sunlight to blanket the canyon walls and rushing river below. It was beautifully bipolar. Bone shattering cold, but with a tantalizing ray of light, making me think that it was indefinitely warmer than the thermometer read. Steamrolled off the river, like a pot of water almost at a boil.
The rigging of my line took longer than usual. Blood covered flies and chapstick and PAM’d guides finally coming together after about 15 minutes of toil. As I walked down the road, I felt like Ralphie’s brother from “A Christmas Story” wrapped up in all my layers against the cold. I could hardly move. Eventually, I made it down the impressive grade to the river, mostly on my keister after slipping on the snow-slicked rocks at the top. I waded into the ice-cold water and prepared to wet my line. After several less than stellar casts, I reassessed my situation. “What the heck am I doing?” I repeated to no one in particular.
After several more drifts of nothing but nothing, I moved downriver to a section of slower water that had always harbored fish for me in the past. The chapstick and PAM were no match for the frigid temps as a meandering breeze flowed through the canyon. Guides were ringed with ice, line was frozen stiff, and the reel refused to budge. Most rational individuals would have booked it for the truck, but against my better judgment, I insisted on continuing my fool’s errand. After much swearing, several snags, and general discontent, I told myself “One more cast,” before I tuck tail and run. Those three words have undoubtedly been the cause of many missed curfews and the last straw for many fishermen’s wives. The line rolled out its energy and landed squarely on the current seam. Peeling in line as the indicator drifted, dejected, I prepared to reel in the excess and head for home.
The indicator dove. Glittering shards of ice sprang from the rod as I set the hook. My previously reluctant reel sang as the hooked fish broke loose its frozen gears and tore through the current. Silver erupted from the tumult, breaking the water several times. The rainbow ripped through the water as my numb hands tried to guide the rod against the furious run. The fish defied the lethargic atmosphere and nearly took me to my backing. Back and forth across the pool and finally, out into the main current, the fish fought against the pressure like a wild mustang. Through fogged sunglasses, several missteps on the moss and ice-covered rocks, and a near spill into the frigid river, I was finally able to land the fish in an eddy a bit downstream, rod arm pulsing from the fight.
Why WWF?
Looking back on that bitterly cold day chasing trout I still can’t help but smile. I am reminded of how lucky I am to have been able to have had that experience and to live in a place where that moment and that feeling of communion with nature can happen at nearly any place and at any time. This reality would not be true without the herculean efforts of conservation groups like the Wyoming Wildlife Federation. Their tireless endeavor to improve not only the health and habitat of our fish and wildlife populations but to enhance and solidify our ability to enjoy them is paramount to all of us who live here. Wyoming is an amazing place, full of immense beauty, incredible diversity, and unmatched opportunity. Thanks to the efforts of conservationists like the WWF, we’ll all be able to live Wyoming to the fullest.
About Yoshi
Josh “Yoshi” Masek is the general manager at the Wind River Outdoor Company where he helps outfit outdoorsmen and women with hunting and fishing gear, while also being a great resource for making your trips outdoors even better. He’s an avid hunter and fisherman himself and loves any chance to get outside.