Putting the Wraps On My Trout Season

October 31st was the final day of my 2008 trout season and it was a memorable one. I was fortunate to hook many nice cutthroat trout and this season will provide me with many great memories to sustain me through the winter.
I could never seem to quite get it all together for the Deschutes this year and while I did manage to catch and release a few rainbows east of the mountains high gas prices definitely kept me close to home.
I took some large coastal cutthroat trout with many different patterns and in many different rivers this year. One very large trout literally removed my reel from the sliding band reel seat of my rod! Picture me fighting a large trout while trying to reattach my reel to my rod. I managed to do it and land the trout!
Why do I have such an affection for these trout? Cutthroat trout are a simple fish in that they strike with abandon and fight ferociously belying their smaller size. While they are a simple trout they are most affected by the interference of man. As I've posted before there are many species of cutthroat trout that simply do not exist anymore.
The coastal variety that I fish for are affected by habitat degradation and that is the number one culprit in their dwindling numbers.
So next year these trout face yet another obstacle and that is a harvest. It saddens me to no end that this is happening but it is and we will just have to rededicate our efforts to save these fish.
So now I face the winter season with the rain and cold. The steelhead of winter will provide a great challenge but I will still long for those days of spring and will anxiously await them.
I hope all of you had a great trout season. Whether you fish in the large freestone rivers of the west or the small chalk streams of the UK or even the wind swept shores of Patagonia we all love our trout don't we?