Back in the Saddle.....

          Hello friends and thanks for checking in at the O’Grady Fly Fishing Adventures. What a glorious day in O’Gradyland! As most of our readers know, for nearly seven years, I very rarely went fishing without bringing along Pooh-dog. While packing my vehicle, Winston would stare and when finished I would nod and Pooh would run for the car. He would run ahead and always stop where he knew my favorite spots were and then a year or so ago, he began to really have problems with arthritis. At one time, I took him to the vet totally expecting that it was the end but after a thorough examination, the vet told us that his problems were manageable. Winston has been on a really strong anti-inflammatory and this summer he seemed to be feeling pretty good. The last couple of week I have been taking both dogs to the Valco ponds and Winston seemed to be doing better every day. Yesterdays swimming session went so well that today I decided I would try taking him to the river.

          It has been a long time since Winston stared while packing the car and today was no different. When finished I said come on and he had a strange look on his face, I said it again, lets go Pooh and he jumped up and headed for the car. I told myself ahead of time that I really needed to control myself and gave myself a two-hour time limit. When we got to the river it appeared as if Pooh had never missed a day. We walked down and he sat down in the water just below one of my favorite runs. I looked up and could see a tail swinging back and forth and my drift went perfectly by, the indicator jumped and I lifted. The fish headed into the current and popped off almost immediately. I turned to look at Winston and he had a slight look of disgust and I could almost hear him telepathically say, that I looked like the one that hadn’t been out in eight months. I hooked and lost a few more and then finally landed a dink but Pooh-dog didn’t mind a bit. He looked so happy to get another sniff. We headed up river and hooked a few more but couldn’t get any others in and looking at the clock, although I wanted to continue, I knew I needed to leave. Pooh is napping now and looked pretty good when we got home.

          The river now is doing well, flows have been decreasing and clarity is good. Water temps are currently great and the fish are plump and strong. If you get a chance, get out and you might even get a chance to say hi to Winston. As always, Connell, Cat, Winston, and the Drift Fly Shop want to thank you for reading….