Winter Dip
The people in town for skiing sure weren’t liking it, but it was mild enough last week in Michigan to get onto the Pere Marquette with little fuss. The old man tried to stick me with the shitty waders, but he didn’t realize the Cabela’s neoprene model was a much better choice in 38 degree water. We lasted about four hours before we started feeling drunk and sloppy and slow with the cold. That’s generally enough of a reminder of good old Uncle Hypo to get us out of the water, before you slip and take a dip or snap a rod on the trail.
We were looking for the elusive Great Lakes steelhead, with stout eight weights and strong leaders, but no fish were seen or heard from. Egg flies, nymphs, and a few streamers in the afternoon weren’t moving anything. But it was worth it to get out on a great river for a few hours when it would normally be much, much colder.