After a long, hard winter in the upper Midwest, we Minnesotans start to monitor the temperatures and ice outs for the first day with good “fishable” weather.  The winter was spent acquiring new fishing gear, organizing fly boxes, filling those same boxes with new, untested fly patterns, and of course, a copious amount of scheming.

The anticipation for the return to nature in search of hungry trout grows exponentially with rising outdoor temperatures.  It always culminates in a wonderful first day on the river.  Sometimes, it doesn’t always end with fish landed.  But new stories are made, legends are forged and a new year of fly fishing is ushered in with the song of the fly line soaring through the air.  What was your first day out like this year?