Sixty? Are they kidding me? That’s the high temperature forecast for tomorrow here at Crooked Eddy. It isn’t time to panic though, for winter will return for the weekend. What I wouldn’t give for some sunshine to go along with that sixty-degree day!
In truth I doubt we will see 60 and, if we do, I will be looking hard at a couple of river gages and toying with the idea of spending a couple of hours swinging flies. The warm air helps, it will keep the water temperatures hovering around forty degrees, but it would take several hours of sunlight to give them the kind of kick that would lead me to expect to find a feeding fish or two. With more seasonable weather returning Saturday, this could be the last chance to wander a riverbank for an extended period of time.
In the more southerly climes of Southcentral Pennsylvania, the weather tended to be more variable through the course of the winter. Yes, there were some very cold stretches, but there were little warmups too. If the warmups lasted into the weekend, I could generally expect to find a few active trout on the limestoners, for their water temperatures rarely dipped below 50 degrees. My favorites were the February warmups, for they came when cabin fever was reaching a peak!
Last February, we got an honest warmup here in the Catskills. Daytime highs ran in the mid-forties and into the low fifties for a handful of days. That was a first for me since moving to Hancock in 2018. We are having that kind of spell now, and it did get me out on the river for a day, but I missed the sunshine. Even in January, a bright, sunny day can punch up the river temperature three degrees or so in a few hours, and that quick little rise just might allow me to introduce my new Dazed Dace to a big old brownie! The rapid rise has always seemed more likely to get a few trout moving than a long gradual rise over a couple of days.
Don’t mind me; just dreamin’…
Its hard not to daydream this time of year. I live for dry fly fishing and I know I won’t see any of that until mid-April. A run of really warm weather we had in March of 2021 had me hunting rivers early. I found early black stoneflies and midges buzzing around, but nothing, absolutely nothing disturbed the surface. Those early stones had me fishing dry flies on the limestoners in February, and the little olives joined the party in March, but that was thanks to those fifty-something degree water temperatures I mentioned.
I did get started on the new small flies for my Translucence Series today, blending dubbing for BWO’s and Paraleps, commonly known as Blue Quills. I will tie a few more when the chill returns. Snowfalls tend to be better for my concentration than rain.
Bright Waters Catskill 