Guilty as charged. I was a proponent of Wisconsin's new early trout season. I believed the hype and romanticized about days past fishing with my dad during the frigid Wisconsin winters.


I believe I wanted this early season for the wrong reasons. Iowa and Minnesota have different forms of early season and Wisconsin did not. This seemed unfair to me. I was all in for the January season.

After the dew wore off the blossom it wasn't so alluring. Memories of days past were brought to present days. The frozen guides and deep snow of years gone by came back to me. The thrill was already gone.

The old March opener even seemed more appealing. But only a little bit. I was very selective on the times and places I went out during that period also.

I wondered if it was because I was older now and have lost some of that drive the younger angler has? I see none of the younger anglers out there either.

I sit here in my recliner and question if those good old days were truly that good.