Two Simple Days

We live in a busy world, a very busy world…seems like down time just  doesn’t happen very often; throw on top of that the fact that we seem to be plugged in, whether it be to a phone, I-pad, or just the internet…and we just don’t have much time on our own. July is a busy month for volleyball as I took my team to Michigan and spent a week, after returning home I decided I needed to un-plug for a couple days…I called dad and he and I loaded up, took my camper to Greene-Sullivan State Forest where we went off the grid, nothing but nature, fishing…oh, and some heat!

The campground at Narrow Lake is a place that I have spent many nights going way back to my early fly-fishing years when I was a teen and just started driving. It is primitive camping, no electricity, water, etc…and most times that is great, however dad and I managed to hit the hottest couple days of this current summer…I have to admit that the afternoons were simply stagnant, no air moving around and while we were in the shade, it really didn’t matter, hot is hot! If you go; Narrow Lake Campground sits just off of highway 159, about 4 miles south of Dugger. Most of the spots there are very nice…my favorite is #33 as it sits beside the water and is tucked away well into the shade.

Fishing was certainly on the menu…and fishing was what I did. It would make for some great drama for me to be able to tell you that I caught lots of fish…and some big ones; truth is the fishing was tough and at times it was very tough. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t have a great time…I like a challenge that was exactly what I got.

If you aren’t familiar with the Greene-Sullivan area and all the lakes that are available…then by all means get yourself into that area of our state, you won’t be disappointed; particularly if you like ‘little’ water and by that I mean water that you can kayak, canoe or like me, use a float tube on. I will add that all the lakes in this area are trolling motor or electric motor only and that by itself makes for a very quiet fishing environment.

The West Dugger Unit is my favorite area; the lakes sit about 5 miles west of Dugger, just south of highway 54. These lakes are newly added (just over 20 years ago) to the fishable waters and have a truly smorgasbord of fish to be had…from panfish all the way up to Musky. One of my favorites is Black Cat Lake; it sits on the very furthest western edge of the Dugger Unit and is truly one of the most beautiful bodies of water I fish each year…not only is it pleasant to be on but I have landed a number of good bass through the years. This past trip I caught several bass on the two trips I made to the lake…the highlight came mid-morning my first day when I happened to be looking over my shoulder, back up along the edge of the lake and witnessed a big musky come up and breach at the top of the water. When you are focused on catching a 15 inch bass…a 40 plus inch fish really makes an impact and it was a sight I won’t soon forget.

As I said, the heat was on…so my day looked like this; up at 5:30am, on the water until about 10am, back to the camper for some breakfast and a quick nap, followed up by some afternoon bluegill fishing from 2pm to 5pm, a little bit of supper and off to the lake by 7pm until just past dark around 10pm. Dad was coming along with me for most of the afternoon and evening fishing; as he said…”I can sit in the shade along the lake as easy as I can back at the campground”. The afternoon fishing found me with my 2-weight fly rod in hand along with a size 8, hand tied rubber spider on the other end. If you haven’t every ‘gil’ fished with a small fly rod…it’s a hoot. The afternoon of our second day we made our way to Graveyard Lake which is in the southern half of Greene-Sullivan and I maneuvered my float tube in and around the shade…casting my small spider in and under the many limbs that were overhanging. I hesitate to say it was technical fly casting…but it really was. The trick was to get your fly as far under and into the shade as possible-and do this without snagging on a limb. Once the fly was successfully placed beneath a limb…it was as simple as allowing the fly sink, watch the end of your fly line…and hold on. This simple method produced about 50 bluegill and bass; none were too large but when they are on the end of a 2-weight rod…they are all a lot of fun!

Our two days of being ‘un-plugged’ was a real treat. I fished several lakes, caught enough fish to keep it interesting…and had a number of good chats with dad; I’ll always be able to fish but someday I’ll remember our couple of days fishing, camping and just enjoying each other’s company.  If you haven’t taken some time to push away from the daily stress of our everyday world…then camping, fishing and the like is a good way to feel renewed. Give Greene-Sullivan a try and I am sure that you will Enjoy the Great Outdoors.