Reflections on a Morning Spent Trout Fishing

Travis Schuh shares his reflections of a morning that he spent trout fishing in Wisconsin

The alarm goes off before the sun comes up. My body jitters with excitement, yet my hangover screams at me to go back to sleep. I can’t sleep now…the stream is calling. I climb down the bunk and make my way to the car. Within minutes, I am parked on the side of a back country road. I avoid the bridges…they are always overfished. It’s funny, from where I am parked, you couldn’t even tell that the stream exists. I venture my way through the thick bogs and sticks. I am motivated by my passion for finding that legendary fish that is sitting in a hole yet to be found this year. I fall a few times, but I eventually make my way to the water and get in. The sun is just coming up now, and fog hangs over the water like the smoke from the campfire that I was at last night. The only sounds I hear are the doves and the water that I am stirring up. I round the corner and spot the first hole. Patiently, I string the leaf worm onto my tiny, size-12 hook. I breathe in…and I cast. Continue Reading →