First fish

This Friday I went out fishing for the third or fourth time this year. It was bitterly cold, and even though it was relatively calm and the sun was out, my friend Lars and I were freezing more than we liked. Hot coffee and constant movement kept us from giving up. Into the water to fish for 10-15 minutes and out again to curl cold fingers around a warm cuppa. Lars was spinning - ultralight with small 6-10 gram lures - and I was flyfishing with a sinking line and a - yes, believe it or not - Gotcha! A bonefish fly in water close to the freezing point. And definitely with no bonefish! But a small, beautiful sea trout fell for this tropical creation and took a few leaps out of the water before I could land it in the cold water. The low temperatures really does keep the energy level of these critters down. But it was great to have caught the first fish of the season anyway! Small or not. Cold or not. From now on the water gets warmer every day, the weather becomes milder and the days longer. The season has started.