The most important news I have is that my wife, Michelle, gave birth to our second son last Sunday! Henry Lewis Allen was born at 6:30 PM in the evening. As it goes, the first week was a little rough, with very little sleep and a lot of crying. But what a joy it is to have another boy – Winston now has a best friend and I have two fishing partners (in about 5 years).
Henry, fast asleep after a long struggle to come into this world.
When Sunday rolled around my loving wife said, “you need to get out and recharge”. So, I took the opportunity to head out to the river for a half day of fishing. As it turns out, western Michigan is under a flood of Biblical proportions, so I decided it would be a great day if Jay and I just went for a long drive, discussed life, and hopefully found some fish in the process. We heard rumors that some of the more spring-fed rivers were clear water and if it was small enough of a system may be wadeable – the North Branch of the White River fit the bill so we headed out!
When we arrived, we were happy beyond belief. The river was in GREAT shape – clear, wadable and lots of gravel! The steelhead fishing was not epic, but we were happy to find the fish were fresh, but not on their beds yet, so we were able to hook fish on nymphs and egg patterns in the deep runs.
If I would have been a little more aggressive with the net this photo might look a lot different!
The worst news of the day is that we went 0/4 when it comes to landing, but hooking a steelhead each hour meant that fishing with your brother, the sun on our backs, the air in the 50′s, and an occasional fish exploding up the river it never felt so good to lose a fish!
Tight lines,
-Jeff
via Allen Brothers http://www.theallenbrothers.com/site/2013/04/north-branch-white-river-it-never-felt-so-good-to-lose-a-fish/
