Landing the Walleye

You know, it takes all types to be a Trout Diva!  Now, most of us are goin' to really rub it in when we whip up on 'ya boys...  for a long, long time!  But, some Trout Divas play it a little more low-key.  They act all gracious, and truly humble...

Well, until I'm done with them, anyway!

After all, catchin' those big White River Trout just gives you an adrenaline rush that doesn't mesh well with all that graciousness & humility nonsense...

Besides that, not much feels better than showin' up those men-folk who know more about fishin' than we do...  am I right?

Do you remember that old Bob Seger song?  The one called, "Her Strut"?  Yeh, you do...  You remember it -- goes like this:

She's totally committed...
to major independence...
But she's a lady through and through...
She gives 'em quite a battle!
All that they can handle...
She'll bruise some, she'll hurt some, too...
But, oh...  they love to watch her STRUT...
Oh...  they do respect her, but...
They love to watch her STRUT!
Oh...  they'll kill to make the cut...
They LOVE to watch her STRUT!

Anyway, back to the story...

I just gotta tell 'ya 'bout my Diva Joyce.  She's one of those sweet, demure, good natured, and very humble ladies.

Yeh, Yeh...  I agree...  I needed to put an end to that ASAP!

Well, I did my best to corrupt her, a just little bit, while she was fishing with her husband, James.

Now, James is a great guy, to be sure -- don't get me wrong.  But, he deserved some ribbin' after the major "Trout Fishin' Smack-Down" Joyce put on him the other day...

Lemme tell 'ya how it all happened...

First day out with one of our guides, she got this really nice Rainbow.  She came up and told me about it like it was no big deal -- wanted me to come take a picture.  Actually, if memory serves, she said that, "the guide wanted to know if maybe I wanted to take a picture..."  Yeah, right...

So, I went down to take a picture, not really expecting much, and about fell off the dock.  Folks, I'd have been shoutin' from the rooftops with a Rainbow like this!  The picture really doesn't do it justice.  And all I got out of Joyce was this sweet, disarming grin.

 
Well, I really teased her because she was SO humble about it.  She started talking about how it was "just good luck", it was because of the "great guide" (which truly did have something to do with it), how her husband must have brought her luck, etc., and tried to totally downplay her Diva-ness...

I told her, "Hey, Joyce...  c'mon!"  THAT fish deserves a little STRUT, don't you think?  Happy Fish Dance?  Something???  You need to be obnoxiously arrogant about it for at LEAST a week or two!"

She just kind of grinned at me, and went back to her cabin.  So, I razzed James a little bit as he walked back because I simply could not STAND the thought of him not appreciating just what a truly great Rainbow this was!  But he knew...  He absolutely knew...  Especially by the time I was done with him!  :-)

So, anyway, they go out the next day, too...

They're out with Big John again, and she comes walkin' into the tackle shop 'round lunch time...  She has this great grin on her face...

She says, "Woops!  I did it again!  Got 'yer camera, Julie???"

That's when I saw it...  The STRUT...  You know the strut I'm talkin' about.  That's the moment I started thinkin' 'bout that old Bob Seger song... I knew she had it goin' ON down on the boat dock!

She was literally oozin' tons of pure Trout Diva-ness...  Made me proud...  brought a tear to m' eye...  So, I grab the camera and go down to the dock.

I was expecting to see something nice, but definitely not THIS nice -- I got a picture of the best Rainbow I've seen in a long time...

Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' 'bout!  Folks, you gotta understand...  This is the kind of Rainbow that you stop to thank Jesus personally, and if you listen carefully you can hear a choir of angels singing, "Hallelujah!"  OK, OK...  Well, it's like that for me, anyway!

I don't think Diva Joyce is gonna have any problems with that strut for awhile, folks...  Get a great fish like this once, maybe luck...  But, twice?  That's pure Trout Diva-ness!

Strut on, sister Joyce!  Strut on, girl...  :-)

And all the brethren said, "AMEN!"

Your White River Trout Diva