Fishing dogs are rare animals, and Poppy, the old English bull dog muzzling a freshly caught Idaho carp in the snapshot above is, for the record, not a fishing dog.
Not yet anyway. I’m in possession of the greatest fishing dog ever — Phoebe — who responds to finger snaps, walks trout streams loyally by my side, and, now that she’s older and a little arthritic, knows when it’s time to head back to camp for a cold beer and a nap. I’m dreading the day. You know… that day. Honestly, she’s still with it upstairs, but her body is starting to fail her, and I won’t let her slide too far into that “hurts to breathe in and out” stage. She’s not ready yet. Neither am I.
Poppy? She thinks the river is a gas, and has no fear of water, even though she had shown surprisingly little swimming acumen. She’s also not sure about the fish yet and kind of wanders along on her own schedule, which doesn’t often include the guidance I try and offer. Maybe one day. Maybe not.
Like I said, fishing dogs are rare, and not every pooch is cut out to handle the finesse of it all.
But… Poppy did like the carp. I think. But I’d love to hear what you think. Caption the photo atop the post, and we’ll send the author of the best caption a brand new RIO Gold fly line with its patented Slick Cast coating. Note: captions must be posted below the post on the TROUT Magazine digital site, not on social media.
Oh, and by the way, congrats to Jack Rodgers, who won our first caption contest last week. Your line is on the way, Jack.