Guide P.J. Smith dropped a trail of nuggets while quietly working through his presentation, which could have been titled ‘‘The Joy of Fly-Fishing,’’ at The Early Show on Sunday at Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook.
It was good to have the only fly-fishing show in the area, presented by the DRiFT (driftorg.com) and Illinois Smallmouth Alliance (illinoissmallmouthalliance.net), back after a five-year absence.
‘‘[Fly-fishing] is a fun sport,’’ Smith said. ‘‘If you’re miserable, maybe take up golf and chase a little white ball around.’’
Sage advice from a man who worked for 26 years as a heavy-equipment operator at the Morton Arboretum before becoming a full-time guide in 2018 (endorsed by Orvis in 2019).
After dropping such nuggets as ‘‘Challenge Yourself,’’ ‘‘New Trips Build Skills,’’ ‘‘Don’t Skimp on Rain Gear’’ and a recommendation for a side trip in Vermont to see the American Museum of Fly Fishing (amff.org), he dropped a final nugget.
‘‘I heard of a sliver of trout in the Driftless Area of Illinois,’’ he said.
Of course, I trailed him back to his booth to pick his brain. I’ve been chasing the possibility of native brook trout in inland waters of Illinois for decades with no success.
He said he heard about it about 20 years ago but couldn’t remember who said it. He thought it might have been on the Apple River system near Galena.
But he acknowledged, ‘‘It is just that the water is too warm.’’
The only place he thought might be a possibility are the headwaters, where the water is in the 50-degree range.
This from a man who takes brook trout seriously. It is the image on his business card and on the side of his drift boat, but he loves fishing the Midwest for its variety: smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, northern pike, muskie, trout, steelhead and salmon.
Yet I clutch at the dream of a spring-fed pool holding native brookies on private land somewhere in Illinois’ few acres of the Driftless.
More about Smith’s guiding is at pjguideservice.com.
Youth hunting
The Iroquois County State Wildlife Area near Beaverville hosts a youth clinic and youth pheasant hunt Saturday. Call (815) 933-1383.
Illinois hunting
John Saban emailed that his group had its five-man limit by 10 a.m. Saturday on opening day of upland-game seasons in southern Livingston County.
‘‘Saw lots of hens, too,’’ he said.
Wild things
Jim Hantak had his first juncos of the season last week in Hillside. . . . We are in the heart of the deer rut, so drive accordingly. . . . Sandhill crane numbers at Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area in Indiana should be climbing rapidly this month. The count Oct. 29 was 4,676.
Stray cast
This time of year feels like most Leonard Cohen songs sound.
HOLD FOR STORY FILE – In this March 22, 2013 file photo, Leonard Cohen performs on the Old Ideas World Tour, at The Fabulous Fox Theatre in Atlanta. Cohen, the gravelly-voiced Canadian singer-songwriter of hits like �Hallelujah,� “Suzanne� and “Bird on a Wire,” has died, his management said in a statement Thursday, Nov. 9, 2016. He was 82.