It finally looks like winter this morning, more than two months into the great void. So far, this much talked about first winter storm has not hit Crooked Eddy too hard. It is still snowing though.
The Weather Channel was all abuzz about double digit snowfall in New York and Pennsylvania, but we have nothing like that here. I was missing the snow as Christmas came and went, but I don’t need a foot of it to bring a smile.
The specter that is still hovering involves storm number two, expected to bring more snow to begin the week and then rain and warmer temperatures midweek. Catskill anglers, and all who love these rivers would heartily prefer a flood-free season.
I would like to see a couple of little warming trends each month now until spring. Ideally, that would give me a day or two during each of winter’s remaining months to get out and wander along a riverbank, with a little hope that something spotted might intercept the swing of my fly. Time to keep working with the movement flies I have designed, and perhaps even devise another.
Right now, I am in the midst of the annual lull in my fly tying. I finished out the year 2023 with a few ideas, and now I am taking it easy for a while and enjoying my winter reading.
I missed the first winter fly tying session at the Museum yesterday, and I hear that quite a few of our Guild tyers showed up, despite the snowstorm bearing down upon us. I really didn’t feel up to it and didn’t want to spend the afternoon coughing at my fellow fly tyers. I’m on my doctor’s third suggestion to beat this bronchitis, and I really hope it works before the next little gathering in two weeks.
The books are keeping me connected to bright waters for now, although most of the best ones are older volumes which speak of days long gone. I do tend to smile at the fact that our Catskill rivers have continued, something not expected in many of the angling writings penned after WWII. Despite our environmental progress, there are still great challenges ahead, lest the current generation be the last to experience the wonder of wild trout rising to a mayfly hatch.
Bright Waters Catskill 