1.A guy walking by with 2 suckers on his stringer saying he couldn't believe he caught two browns under the stump upstream.
2.Local idiots camping out in a tent the night before on a stretch of stream that was about 12 feet wide and in between two housing developments, right off a main road, just to hit some 8 inch stocked fish.
3.One of the above idiots drunk as hell yelling "F*CK OFF" to every car that went by and beeped at the 300 people fishing at 8:15am. When I finally asked him to watch his language around all the kids he was like "Why don't you watch all the rock throwing from your a**hole kid". My 3 year old was throwing pebbles into a puddle behind me, not even in the stream. Needless to say, I left before I killed him. I later drove by and saw the cops with him. I hope he got arrested. Dick.
4.My three year old decided to dive waist deep into the water about 20 minutes later at another hole because he saw a rock he "really wanted".
5.Carrying a shivering three year old and three fishing rods over a mile back to the car.
6.Heading out later in the afternoon without the kid and absolutely slaying trout on Greenie Weenies and Black Buggers while the bait guys watched in awe as I released every fish.
7.Spin fishing guys asking me if they could "fish a woolly bugger with a split shot" and if they could buy some off me.
8.Heading out around 10pm on Saturday night after the kids were asleep and hitting almost another half dozen on hoppers in the pitch black darkness
9.Twenty guys ganging up on one Palomino (golden rainbow) and one saying "Keep pissing him off and hitting him with lead. He'll eventually just bite".
10.Hitting a semi-crowded stretch on Sunday morning and seeing no one catching anything but fish rising like crazy to midges.. I cleaned up for an hour straight on size 22 Griffith's Gnats.
11.(I know I said 10, but this one is too good.) One of the spin fishing guys tying on a giant size 4 Royal Wulff, and casting it out with a bobber after seeing me smack fish on dry flies.
Yep, it was an opening day weekend to remember. Here's a few pics of the insanity.
17 incher on a Greenie Weenie
Fell for a dry
Michael, with his Anakin Star Wars rod, pre-swimming.
Quick, smash the Palomino!
Thank you Mike for reminding me why it's so wonderful to live in a state that doesn't have a closed season. Great post...I'm still laughing.
ReplyDeleteIt's only for a week then they all move on to NASCAR and small game hunting.
DeleteHeading over to Western PA for the 2nd opening day?
ReplyDeleteActually yes, but it involves a less crowded stream and lots of beer.
DeleteWow. Sitting here in disbelief at some of the antics described.
ReplyDeleteYou obviously have the patience of a saint.
The only reason that guy didn't get destroyed was because my son was there. My parent side got the best of me.
DeleteAwesome, I have been laughing at these people for years. unfortunately probably no first day for me this year
ReplyDeleteit was definitely interesting. haha
DeleteI agree on the kudos for the restraint you showed that jerk.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't easy!
DeleteSounds like you had a very interesting weekend to say the least. It is a hard task to refrain from dealing with an idiot, but doing the right thing with kids around is that much more rewarding. Kudos!
ReplyDeleteI'm secretly hoping I run into him again. I'm going to chuck a 12 inch musky streamer at his head.
DeleteOpening Day = Redneck Awareness Day
ReplyDeleteThe absolute pathetic behavior is amazing on opening day. However, Sunday after my Dad and I found alot of quiet water that we had all to ourselves and just hammered fish. We were like two kids, it was alot of fun. Green Weenie owns stocked trout!!
It's all about the weenie. I realized when stripping it slowly, it has the same action as the infamous trout magnet the spin guys use.
DeleteMy favorite early season activity is slamming the fish on sz 22 griffiths gnats at my local P&T when the midges are on. Guys ask what I'm using and I just show them and they just mutter something about not even being able to see it.
ReplyDeleteGood stuff. Opening day is in 2 weeks for us and I'm unfortunately missing it.
I hear ya. People were amazed at how small the flies I was using were on Sunday.
DeleteYou did the right thing by not confronting that idiot. I had to make the same decision a few years ago when my young daughter was nearby. My blood was boiling but I knew I needed to set the example.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I still drive by the same area on occasion . . . .