have to bring your own red, tractor



and green, canoe..



we did some farm work first, pickup of three-quarters of a mile of irrigation pipe, stack and tie down. Then cut enough old elm for the woodstove in the barn to heat the upcoming pheasant season. Then fell another dying elm, top and mulch the branches for the young grape vines. That's what the tractor is doing, running the chipper/shredder. My forearms were sore for days, I'll blame bucking a chainsaw for hours instead of the fly casting.

Felt we'd earned a few hours fishing and headed up into the hills.





Don't really need a canoe for this pond, but it does let you sneak up on the bank feeders from an unexpected angle. Fishing a Fenwick FF856-5 after a summer of the FL90-5, it felt a very long rod in comparison.

The prairies fall a bit short of fall spectacle. On the other hand the brookies had all the colors you might want.







I had to wear my fleece of many colors trying to keep up, think I did not manage it. It is a poor fall without catching a few gaudy brookies in full panopoly, glad we managed it this year.

The photo of the canoe is about the finest Fall colors I can imagine. Looks like a great time!

Thanks for taking us along. Looks like a great time. Where can one pick up one of those fleece's of many colors? Asking for a friend. ha Looks like the Fenwick did alright.

the fleece is a Patagonia, present from my son.. my own choice of fleeces tend to the olive-drab ;-)

the farm is theoretically my friend Ken's retirement place.. currently there's just a barn with a woodstove, he daydreams about a nice little cottage on the hill with a wraparound porch..

Thank you.

Work and play.

The canoe shot is very nice, as noted.

The brookies are stunningly beautiful!

The fleece of many colors is at the same time both whimsical and enchanting! I'm diggin' it!

Thumbs Up!

Awesome! Cyguy, I love my 856-5 - definitely a candidate for "if I only had one"!

loved my 856 so much, needed to try the 856-5.. it feels a little softer/slower than the original 2-piece but still has everything I like about it - easy slow action, light tip that lets you feel smaller fish and delicate presentations, tough butt to fling bigger flies and fight good fish.

my 856-5 is going to get tested on a trip to S. Africa this fall - some estuary fishing for leervis (garrick)and maybe spotted grunter though they are very difficult on a fly, then hopefully a bit of trout stream fishing on my natal waters near Cape Town. The Cape Town streams are privately regulated though so not certain if I'll be able to get a beat to fish.

Well—after all that work, you deserved a little fishing! Thanks for sharing the pics, looks like you had a good trip.