Jim Lunetta holding a 23-inch German Brown

Editor,

It’s that time of year again: Opening Day of fishing season 2024! The Lunetta family made their way back to Downieville, as they do every year, hoping to catch a big one. Grandma Sally, Grandpa Jim, and their grandsons James (17) and Jacob (14) pulled into town late Friday night. They stayed at Downieville River Inn, as they do every year, and were treated well by Mike and Tree.

The river was running high and fast, which can make fishing sketchy at best. Saturday morning at about 5:30, Grandpa Jim and James headed out to their favorite fishing hole. Where that fishing hole is exactly remains a closely guarded secret. When asked, Grandpa Jim has been known to say, “I’d tell you, but I’d have to kill you.” They fished there for a while without getting a single bite. Their favorite spot wasn’t producing this year. They jumped back in the 4Runner and headed to their next favorite spot, with the same results: nothing. They tried several other spots where they got a couple of hits but weren’t able to land any fish. They headed back to the hotel around 10:00 to take a break.

At around noon, Grandpa Jim headed back out to try the first hole again. This time, James stayed back. When he got to the spot, to his surprise, there were two fishermen there. So he hiked upstream about 50 yards to the next hole. Not really expecting to get anything, he cast the line in anyhow. On the third cast, fish on! At first, it didn’t feel like a big one, but then it took off, and the fight was on! It was quite the battle to land it, but after what seemed like a lifetime, the fish was in the net. After Grandpa’s heart stopped beating out of his chest, he took a breath and measured the beast. It was a 23-inch German Brown, and it was a hog! He quickly went back to the hotel to show the family.

Later that afternoon, James and Grandpa went out again to try some different spots. They found one spot where they had to hike down a steep bank to get to a good-looking hole. After a few casts, James landed a nice 14-inch Rainbow! They tried a few more holes, but the water was too fast to fish.

So, 2024 Opening Day was a success! Not a lot of fish, but a 23-inch Brown and a 14-inch Rainbow, I’ll take that any day!

Jim Lunetta

Colfax