The Highest of Highs to the Lowest of Lows

     I finally had the opportunity to go to my favorite stream after work today. I had not been out since my last report March 11th and needed a little time to myself. I arrived at the stream @ 6:30 and only had about an hour to fish before sundown. I decided to fish a new stretch and was curious to see how the trout had rebounded from the flood a couple weeks ago. I immediately took the temp and was surprised to see a staggering 52 degrees (up 14 degrees from a couple weeks ago). I soon became optimistic with new territory, warmer temps, and an overcast sky. It took only one hole to produce a beautiful 10" Brookie and was catching one trout after another thereafter. By the time it was time to go I had 14 trout to hand and made it a whopping 200 yards over the course of 45 minutes..

     Despite all the positives I took from this outing there was an incident that really made me take a step back. It is hard to go a day without encountering something like causes sadness, stress, or disappointment. I never thought I would say that the sport that I cherish so much would take such a dramatic turn but today things took a turn for the worse. In one of the last Brookies I noticed something on the gills and assumed the worst, gill lice! Late last summer I found some on a nearby stream but in all my years fishing this particular stream I had yet to come across this infestation. As I unhooked the Brookie I just so happened to look up and noticed a bald eagle soaring not 50 feet above. Perhaps it was a sign of good things to come and that my favorite trout stream would recover someday and that future generations will still have the opportunity to catch such a remarkable fish. I understand that the DNR says that Gill Lice alone cannot wipe out the trout population but it makes you wonder how much of an impact it will have the Brook Trout population in the long run. I drove home wondering what I could do to help put an end to Gill Lice, but came up with no real answers.