The day started as the previous few have. On the water around 8:45am, early enough to ensure I got a front row seat to any and all mid-day bug activity but not so early as to have me shivering stream-side. This spring has been exceptional but it still gets chilly overnight and in the early morning hours, for now I’ll leave the 6am arrival time for another month or so, then the window of opportunity widens to match the longer summer hours.

My goal was to hike up past a stretch I’ve fished (not many but a few) and get into a tighter valley, out of the open cow pasture where the wind could have it’s way with me and into an uncharted area for me, I was looking forward to the natural challenges of an un-improved stretch of forested trout stream. Today also signified the arrival of a much needed piece of gear that I am frankly reluctant to quickly adopt, a new camera. The work horse that I have used since day one with the Winona Fly Factory has been the Sony Cyber-Shot camera that I permanently borrowed from Liz in the beginning of my trout fishing career. Since that time it has performed beyond every expectation one could have for a camera like this, it’s a general point and shoot digital camera that I have grown to depend on. As of late though the lens has been sticking as I turn the camera on and off, it has also been having a hard time focusing on smaller things like bugs and flies, this is unacceptable and has been causing me some frustration. Not to mention the dust stuck inside the housing and lens that is becoming more noticeable. Liz noticed and decided that my birthday present should replace the old camera, I’d been looking at the Panasonic Lumix as not only a replacement but a serious upgrade. Giving up old dependable isn’t easy, despite the Lumix’s 12.1 mega-pixel rating over the 6.0 from the Cyber-Shot I just couldn’t blindly accept it would do what I needed it to. So I’ve been giving it a run for it’s money. Read the rest of this entry »