It was a little surreal. Here I was on Christmas Eve, standing in the not too cold Saluda River on a warm day, fishing in my shirtsleeves with Spanish Moss draping the river. This is some wintertime fishin’ that I can get used to. Trout fishing and Spanish Moss? Can’t be very many spots like that around.
They say that Columbia, South Carolina is just shy of Hell when it comes to summertime, but if this is a true sampling of their winter weather, I’ll take all I can get. Chad and I snuck away from the family to get in a few hours on the Saluda, and this tailwater – like all the others I have sampled – proved to be a difficult assignment. Big fast water and weak knees don’t mix well, and was I ever glad that I had a wading staff…and Chad’s arm as we made it back across the main stem. We ran into a few of the Saluda River TU guys that I had met at one of their recent chapter meetings and I had to sheepishly admit that I was wearin’ the skunk. Soft hackles were the ticket and of course I had none. That’s my excuse, anyway.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Alan! I've heard how the water fluctuates on the Saluda. Be safe and enjoy your winter fishing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the well wishes Howard. One of the old timers we met on the river said that they rescue about 30 guys a year here, and two of them are typically pulled out DOA. I've bought a yearly non-res license ... so believe me I'll be very careful on all of my return visits.
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