Has anybody seen the bridge?

Last Wednesday morning started off like one of those dreams I often have in which I am supposed to take an exam, but I'm not sure when the exam starts, where it is located, or whether I've been to class all year. In my dream, I find myself anxiously looking for the registrar's office so that I can pick up another copy of my schedule. In other dreams, I'm supposed to play in a baseball game, but I can't find my uniform. In my worst nightmares, I'm trying to go fishing but I just can't get my gear together or get to the lake.

Wednesday morning I had plans to fish with Scotty, but I overslept and couldn't find my cell phone. I was late dropping my son off at school and I had to wait for the Elysian to open so that I could pick up my phone.  Also, I had to pick up new decals for the license numbers on my boat.

The good news is I managed all those tasks without having a heart attack, and Scotty and I were fishing Lake Washington by 11:30.  Within a few casts I hooked and lost a fish on the Articulated Zoo Cougar, Kelly Galloup's fly pattern.  On the next cast I got bit again but came unbuttoned. On the third cast to same spot, I hooked and landed this beautiful smallmouth:

I was particularly thrilled with this fish because I caught it on weightless, buoyant fly on a fast sinking fly line. The fly line would quickly sink deeper than the fly so that when I stripped the fly, it would dive like a crankbait.

A couple of hours later, we landed three more keepers while fishing along some bridge abutments. I thought we took pictures of Scotty's fish, but this is the only other photo he sent me:

It was great to see Scotty finally catch a couple of smallmouth this year. Like Ichiro, just when you write him off, he responds by hitting a couple of singles!