The Blues

In the header of this blog we proudly announced that there would be a lot of pike porn, since here in Holland we can fish for pike almost all winter long. Normally. But this has not been a normal winter at all. The most productive waters for pike fly fishing have basically been covered with ice since december last year up till now. Because we had quite a good beginning of the season we still had some reports left to post, but that stock has dried out now too.

In a desperate attempt to get me to some pike, last week I tried my luck twice on some new, running, waters, only to find that a) I didn't see any pike and b) fishing in a river valley that's pregnant with the smell of pork shite isn't my cup of tea. And it looked so good last week. Temperatures went up, even above freezing point at night, which is of vital importance to get rid of the ice quickly. But then things changed and we're screwed with more frost for the next two weeks or so. Now I know how our fellow fly fishing friends in Scandinavia must feel all winter long (hang in there, Simon).

The other day, I even found myself wiggling my #3 and #4 weights inside the house as I let my thoughts carry me away to teasing trout streams in springtime, gentle grayling runs in the colorful fall and everything else in between. And it's only the beginning of February! We still got two wintery months ahead of us, not to mention the fact that when the spring time fishing is in full swing right here in Middle Europe, we're off to places that (in) may still feel like the middle of a Dutch winter. So when our fishing mates are taking a nap in a lush, flowery pasture after the first, successful half of a typical trout fishing day at one of the nearby Belgian or German streams (probably even wearing shorts, the bastards), we're more likely to find ourselves dressed like the Michelin Man on a boat in Finland, still freezing our asses off in the polar winds.

And although all four of us would never in a million years want to exchange the tournament in Finland for yet another week at a trout stream, right now we feel it's time for some musical self-pity. It's flooding down in Texas? So what? It's freezing down in Holland, that's what really matters! Take it away, SRV-man......





And how can you still have a rude mood after this?




My God, I could go on forever thanks to Youtube. What a musician, what a personality, what a life and what a death. I mean, how ironic can it be, making a song like this and then dying in a helicopter crash?




Well how about that? The blues started off as the problem, but in the end it turned out to be its own therapy as well. Must be something more divine in there somewhere. And yes, with Stevie around, (a) god is never far away. Amen to that (and of course to the melting of the ice...).