I bought Audra a Wisconsin fishing license online without her knowing it. It wasn’t my proudest moment, but I live life with no regrets. Well, she kind of knew because she handed me her drivers license and told me her social security number, but the payment, that was all me and she was in the other room when I did it so I’m considering this a classic fishing license ambush. My motivation was to spend an evening on the Rush River together during the nicest day (so far) of the year. And it paid off.

We were welcomed to the dirt turn-out at the river access point to more parked cars than I’ve ever seen there. It made me wonder if any of the other fishermen there secretly bought a fishing license for the partner; I was likely the only one. So we suited up and walked to the river.

Bugs filled the air. Little ones and a few clumsy flies, primarily. This was a good sign. We could see small browns schooling in the first pool we walked past. This was another good sign. One of the fatter flies thwapped my cheek not long after. Good things come in threes?

A few fish were pulled from the first hole, then we abandoned it to explore more water. This was Audra’s first time at the spot and I wanted to show her some of the beautiful spots along the river. We enjoyed beers near an emerald pool before walking back to where we started for more trout stalking. She ended up with the biggest fish of the day. We closed things off with a few frustrating false takes, but that didn’t end things on a sour note because the sunset we were treated to on the ride home was exceptional. I didn’t take any pictures of it, so you’ll have to take my word for it.