By Ian Scott This is an exciting time of the year for me. The days are getting longer, the temperatures are milder (although as I write this, there is a Winter Storm Warning advisory out for my area), and of course, opening day of the trout season is next week. I am not one for keeping a lot of traditions - I could just as easily celebrate Christmas day on the 27th of December as the 25th. Easter? I never did believe in the Easter Bunny. Thanksgiving is a good excuse to be a glutton with everyone else, and why not be thankful every day anyhow? But when it comes to Opening Day, that is one day that I am quite religious about. It started years ago, with my father who, around this time of the year would get out his tackle box, sort through it, clean up his old Mitchel 300 reel and put new line on, and then do the same on my old Mitchel 300 as well. Sometimes, we'd make it out fishing on Opening Day, but quite often because he worked shifts, we didn't have the opportunity to get the day off work. I still remember my first ever brook trout, caught from the Nottawasaga River off the Hockley Valley Road near Orangeville. That was on an Opening Day. When I turned 15, I met a friend at high school who also loved fishing. By the time we were 16, we both had driver's licences, and Opening Day found us together roaming around the countryside, stopping at every bridge to see if there was any potential. Dave and I would spend many of those first Opening Days together becoming acquainted with the creeks and streams around Limehouse and Stewartown. We'd walk across meadows to our favorite productive spots and often were the only ones fishing. Over the past quarter century, Dave and I can probably count on one hand the Opening Days we've missed together. And as we've become older, we've had our own families, with our sons. So a new tradition has been started. Now instead of just Dave and I, next week it will be Dave's son Ryan along with my 13 year old Colin, who will be meeting someplace in the morning and wetting our lines. Dave and I will be helping our sons as much as possible to catch their first fish of the season next week. Half the fun is in the planning. Dave and I met for dinner last week, caught up on the news with each other, and started talking about where exactly we'd take our sons. We're both watching the weather, checking out streams, and we'll probably decide on the locations we'll focus on the night before. Of course, we'll be getting some worms as well - the boys aren't quite into the fly fishing yet thing - but we'll be taking along the fly rods. So, over the course of the next week, I'll be cleaning my lines, making sure all my reels work well, going through my gear and probably purchasing new leaders. I'm also planning on filling a spare vest I have with some "stuff" that I know Colin will use and appreciate, and presenting it to him on Saturday morning. He'll be excited and proud. If we have time, we'll go out and get him a pair of waders as well. I can hardly wait! The continuation of a long tradition, and it gets even better with our sons. Do you have any opening day traditions? Tell us in the forum. Previous Features
This is an exciting time of the year for me. The days are getting longer, the temperatures are milder (although as I write this, there is a Winter Storm Warning advisory out for my area), and of course, opening day of the trout season is next week. I am not one for keeping a lot of traditions - I could just as easily celebrate Christmas day on the 27th of December as the 25th. Easter? I never did believe in the Easter Bunny. Thanksgiving is a good excuse to be a glutton with everyone else, and why not be thankful every day anyhow? But when it comes to Opening Day, that is one day that I am quite religious about. It started years ago, with my father who, around this time of the year would get out his tackle box, sort through it, clean up his old Mitchel 300 reel and put new line on, and then do the same on my old Mitchel 300 as well. Sometimes, we'd make it out fishing on Opening Day, but quite often because he worked shifts, we didn't have the opportunity to get the day off work. I still remember my first ever brook trout, caught from the Nottawasaga River off the Hockley Valley Road near Orangeville. That was on an Opening Day. When I turned 15, I met a friend at high school who also loved fishing. By the time we were 16, we both had driver's licences, and Opening Day found us together roaming around the countryside, stopping at every bridge to see if there was any potential. Dave and I would spend many of those first Opening Days together becoming acquainted with the creeks and streams around Limehouse and Stewartown. We'd walk across meadows to our favorite productive spots and often were the only ones fishing. Over the past quarter century, Dave and I can probably count on one hand the Opening Days we've missed together. And as we've become older, we've had our own families, with our sons. So a new tradition has been started. Now instead of just Dave and I, next week it will be Dave's son Ryan along with my 13 year old Colin, who will be meeting someplace in the morning and wetting our lines. Dave and I will be helping our sons as much as possible to catch their first fish of the season next week. Half the fun is in the planning. Dave and I met for dinner last week, caught up on the news with each other, and started talking about where exactly we'd take our sons. We're both watching the weather, checking out streams, and we'll probably decide on the locations we'll focus on the night before. Of course, we'll be getting some worms as well - the boys aren't quite into the fly fishing yet thing - but we'll be taking along the fly rods. So, over the course of the next week, I'll be cleaning my lines, making sure all my reels work well, going through my gear and probably purchasing new leaders. I'm also planning on filling a spare vest I have with some "stuff" that I know Colin will use and appreciate, and presenting it to him on Saturday morning. He'll be excited and proud. If we have time, we'll go out and get him a pair of waders as well. I can hardly wait! The continuation of a long tradition, and it gets even better with our sons. Do you have any opening day traditions? Tell us in the forum.
Previous Features
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