January.........and I'm in the mood

It's mid January and I'm in the mood....the ice cold winds with snow in it is blowing outside, but down in the workshop it's warm and a nice smell similar to freshly made popcorn is in the air.... well that's the nearest explenation I have, trying to explain the smell of bamboo cocking in the oven.

Looks simple... but works fine.

And while I am checking and make sure the temperature is stabilizing at the exact level inside the oven and wait for the bamboo to get ready, it's a perfect opportunity to take a glass of Islay "gold", perfect match together with the smell from the bamboo strips coming out from the oven.

The reward.......

 

Garrison 202E is the first rod I'll make this winter. Have read somewhere that this was Garrison's favourite taper. Built his 209 taper last winter and have used it a lot, it has become one of my favourites.

Garrison 202E I build for use in small streams, in the search for the "mysterious" Norwegian brook trout.

Just love the colours on this fish.

The Garrison 209 and a nice brown caught on a size 22 midge.

 

Rusty old streamer

The seventh of January and the thermometer shows +8 degrees Celsius. It has been an incredibly warm winter so far here in the southern parts of Norway where I live. The ice sealed the lakes in early November, but with the mild temperatures from mid-November and rain from the south, the ice has begun to melt again. It's been three months since the last fishing trip and since the weather forecast says that the wind will turn from south to north this weekend, it was time for the first fishing trip this year- before the cold returns.

So I packed the car with the Dickerson mod 7613  a 7' 6" 5wt taper that I like to use when I'm fishing for sea trout. An while the coffee water  are cooking and waders are on I realise that my fly box are missing and probably laying on the kitchen table. Luckily I found this old and forgotten streamer in the back of the car trunk , almost falling apart and the body tinsel that should be gold where brown and rusty. But what the he....just nice to be out fishing again and feel the air from the sea.










 


It turned out that the fish did not care anything about that the streamer was about to fall apart. Got two smaller sea trout but lost five fish ... some larger, likely because of the rusty hook. Nice with the first fish this year anyway.