Though the Autumnal Equinox won’t arrive until next Saturday, the change here has been most apparent this week. Nighttime lows here in Crooked Eddy have reached the forties these last two mornings, and my furnace was running a little overnight.
There was plenty of sunshine this week, bright afternoons in the 60’s and 70’s. Though pleasant and beautiful, those were not the choice afternoons for fishing. The mayflies that had shown well to begin the week seemed to shy away from that bright sun, even though it’s heat was tempered by the cooler air. The winds picked up too, as I closed out the week, strong enough to keep the trout’s noses well beneath the rippled surface.
Angler’s seek explanations when the precious days we enjoy on the water aren’t as eagerly partaken of by the trout. Most of us provide our own. Call them excuses if you will, or reasoning and analysis, but the fact is that if we understood everything about Nature and wild creatures, we wouldn’t find them nearly as compelling as we do.
For me, the magic that makes everything work as it does draws me in hook, line and sinker. While I love thinking about it, pondering the intricacies of water temperature, light, wind speed and direction, and all of the variables that affect my fishing, I am glad not to have all the answers. Think of all of the wonderful conversations with friends and contemporaries that would never take place if we had all the answers. Imagine a life of fishing without all the little breakthroughs when we find a new fly or make a perfect cast and hook that old trout that has vexed us for several seasons.
I love walking past certain reaches of water, looking carefully and studying the currents and conditions and knowing that a trophy brown trout simply has to live and feed there, even though I have never seen a rise, a shadow of movement in the deep, or any tangible evidence to support my belief. I have had that feeling about a lot of places on a lot of rivers and streams during the past three decades. Some of them have never given up their secrets, nor let me even know if they hide any secrets. Thankfully, there are also those places that have… and that helps keep the magic alive!
Bright Waters Catskill 