Ever since my trip up to the ANF earlier this year I have wanted to make it back up. Well, this weekend I got a chance with my best friend and his wife to return to a familiar campsie that is tucked back in on an access road . My best friend and I have been camping here for over a decade, but this would be his oldest son Gage's first trip. I was anxious after I got out of work early friday morning, so I decided to hit Conneaut lake for some panfishing action at daybreak. There was a fairly thick fog when I got there, but the sun came up fast and hot, and the fishing didn't dissappoint.
When everyone else got out of work, we loaded up the truck and got on our way. Was a beautiful sunny day for a drive up through the mountains, and we were there before we knew it. We unloaded, set up camp, and began to kick back and enjoy the sights and sounds of the forest. A quiet night was spent by the campfire in anticipation of hitting the creek the next day.
The next morning when we got up it threatend to rain, but after a few sprinkles it cleared off and turned into a beautiful day. We hit the creek later in the morning in search of trout. The first stop was a log jam at a "Y" in the creek that never fails to deliver at least one fish, but we would be denied this day. We worked our way down stream for a while, but it was hot and the fish just didn't seem to want to cooperate. Everybody decided it was time to cool off, so we abandoned the fishing gear and headed for the swimming hole, which was apparently the same though that the wildlife had. The cool mountain water felt great and Gage had a blast looking for crayfish. After a long day we ate and played cards, then the youngster was ready to hit the hay. The adults piled the wood high on the fire once again and threw back a few beverages.
When we woke the next morning, I headed down to the honey hole one more time with Gage determined no to get skunked for the weekend. It did not dissappoint this time, and I was rewarded with 2 nice trout for my efforts. After releasing the second fish we headed back up to the camp to tear things down. On the way out of the forest we made a last stop at Jakes Rocks to let Gage climb around for a few and see the beautiful view of the reservoir. As always, it was a much quiter ride on the way home with everyone daydreaming of the time spent in the forest.
