What started off as a near-freezing morning, turned out to be a great day.  Vernon Preston and Jim Craig dropped everything and went to Montauk on April 2, 2021.  On the morning drive we closely monitored the car thermometer as it struggled to break the freezing point.  But, with little wind that morning, the cold was not a problem.  

The morning was so comfortable, however, I think the fish decided to sleep in.  By lunch, we had tried everything but netted only a couple fish.  They were not cooperating with anyone.  

By lunch, the sun was bright and warm, and it was time to shed our coats.  After lunch, including some of Vernon’s wide variety of sweets, we were ready to give those fish another chance. 

As it turned out, the afternoon was ours.  We tried a few different flies, but soon learned the trout had a clear preference for olive wooly buggers.  If you had one with an orange bead head, you were quickly making up for lost ground in the morning.  Soft hackles tricked a few fish when the wooly bugger cooled off, but by the end of the afternoon we were catching again with the buggers.  At the end of the day, I had to drag Vernon out of the river, not because of one of his now famous swimming episodes, but because he was having a blast. 

We topped off the day with a hearty meal at the Tater Patch in Rolla.  Although they were super busy, they found us a table.   The service was great, the food was great, but the kitchen was a little slow getting all the orders out.  That just gave us more time to visit, and for me to learn a little more about Vernon’s eating habits.  Did I mention he has a sweet tooth?  Oh yes, not only does he bring a lunch of sugar laden treats, just ask him what he likes on his cottage cheese.  Or, join us next time and find out for yourself!