Trout is more than skin deep

Yesterday I went to my tattoo artist with a different agenda. All my tattoos mean a little something to me, be it the county where I'm from on my wrist, or the St. Jude in memory of my late grandmother. Yesterdays tattoo was a little different. I got a brook trout. Not only is it my home states official fish, it's my favorite to fish for and catch. The brook always interested me as an almost elusive trout, not as hungry as the bigger browns, or as quick to bite as the colorful rainbows. Out of twenty four years of life, I've been fishing 20, and the Brook trout still interest me the most. Almost a weird bond. Even on days I keep my limit, I always through the Brookies back. They are my states natives, rarely stocked, somehow still making it in the waters of today. The way I see it, Browns and Rainbows are stocked by the state to keep. Brooks deserve more respect, they are resilient, finicky, and a great fighting fish. I'll take an 8 inch native over a large Rainbow almost all the time. Almost.  The Brook on my arm represents many things, my favorite fish, my home state, but most importantly, the great times I've had learning and fishing with my father. So one giant shout out to Robby Miller at Built 2 Last who did the tattoo. It turned out great.