Today reminded me of last year when Drew and I were catching rainbows on the fly during the first week of June. Only now it’s almost July and these fat rainbows are still cruising near shore on Lake Superior eating up bugs and apparently still trying to spawn. Most of the fish have dropped out of the rivers by now and are feeding aggressively. The water was rough and waves were smacking into me soaking icy cold through my rain jacket, but the action was fast and the fish were hungry chasing down and taking stripped flies in the turbid water. Winter was freezing cold and we had a late spring which has kept water temperatures cold. Combine that with regular rainfall keeping water levels consistently high and I think these fish have decided to stick around a while longer than normal. All of these fish were still dumping eggs and milt. A late season indeed – largest fish today was 27 inches.

This might call for a new kind of 4th of July celebration donning the fly gear once more.