The weather was warm today so I jumped in the car and went scouting streams. Scouting is code for fishing at bridges and near the road. When it is warm in spring it always brings back memories of my childhood. I pointed the vehicle due west to scout Crawford County. I don't fish for trout there often anymore due to the streams near where I live are better for big browns and that is my target fish these days.

I saw a guy working n his field and wanted to touch base with him again to make sure it was "ok" to fish his land again. I parked the vehicle on the main road and walked down the driveway to talk to the landowner. I was halfway down the drive when a huge white dog came up the drive. Its body language was not the best. It was too big to kneel and try to pet. I figured getting bit in the legs was better than the face.

My mind was racing and I was trying to remember the dog's name. I thought if I could remember the dog's name and call her by name it might de-escalate the situation and save me from a big angry dog. I patted my leg and said come here sweetie. The dog took up a defensive stance and then it came to me. I said come here "Princess." My memory served me correct and her ears changed and her wary stance morphed to a happy wiggling and tail wagging. She ran right up to me and demanded to be petted. The land owner was amazed his guard dog was not guarding. I told him I remembered her name from 2 years ago. But 2 years ago she was much smaller and a puppy then.

Two years ago




https://lenharris.blogspot.com/2017/08/wacky-conditions.html


The land owner and I talked a while and the dog was leaning on my leg so hard she nearly knocked me over. I told him about the last time I had fished with her and she was kind of a pest and was in the water more that out. He told me she had grown out of that now and she was not a very good swimmer anyway. The giant white fur ball followed me to the water. The owner called a couple times for her to come back. I told him she was no problem and she could come with me. The trout were use to seeing her so she shouldn't be a problem now that she was not a water crazed puppy.


Every cast I made she watched the splash and got excited. I had to block her a couple times because I was worry she might try to eat the trout I was landing and get a lure in the face. She was like she was on a pogo stick a couple times when I was unhooking the trout. Bouncing all over the place and way up in the air.

I was interesting as long as I was catching fish. The other times she was rolling in dead stuff and cow manure and going way ahead of me. Then she decided I was going to play with her. She pulled my net off my back and ran a ways away with it. The only way I got her to drop the net was to have a trout on and then she waited at the edge of shore shaking all over. I released the trout quickly and got my net back.

I walked and fished with Princess at my side. She wanted to bite my cork handle on my rod a couple times so I held the rod up high until she lost interest. I was basically forced to pet her every 10 feet to keep her rambunctiousness in check.

Then came another trout to land. I unhooked it quickly and let her sniff it. Mistake....it was in her mouth before I could react. I told her "NO!!"" and she ignored me. I was not wrestling a trout out of the mouth of huge dog that had to go 100 pounds minimum. I decided to try to get a photo of the dog with the 10 inch trout hanging out of its mouth. Had the camera out and ready for the photo when Princess sucked it down like a piece of spaghetti.



The rest of the outing was releasing trout quickly before the big white trout eater could strike. She even put her paws on my chest to make herself taller once when I raised my hands over my head to unhook a trout. A couple of times she chased the trout in the water when I released them.

I fished for about an hour and had a couple close calls when releasing trout. I told the owner and his kids about their trout eating dog. They got a laugh about it. I think I will fish somewhere else next spring.