Summer Daze

July is almost behind us; the second half of the season begins slipping away…

My thoughts are clearing slowly this morning, looking to focus on my trip to the Rodmaker’s Workshop in a few hours. More strong coffee will be required before I am ready to meet the challenges ahead.

July has been as consistently hot as advertised, it’s fishing up and down as has been the character of this 2025 season. But a couple of days have brought the pleasant weather I know and crave in the lovely images of memory: Catskill Summer.

Fishing has meant some long days, rising well before the sun and stalking the mist, then extending my search through the bright, steamy afternoons. The body feels the strain, as age is relentless. I feel what I have always considered to be a good tired, one borne of a fulfilling and noble pursuit, but the dues increase with each passing year. The work of angling though, has not been without it’s rewards!

On one long summer’s day I turned the tables, adapting to a new season of change. I fished an afternoon reach just after daybreak and found a worthy adversary. He charged from cover in a rush as the steel found it’s mark!

Long runs highlighted the battle, until the pull of the arching cane led him ultimately to hand. Just shy of two feet, he was beautiful there among the meshes, quickly returned that he might recover the great energy expended for my benefit. With turnabout working I migrated to a morning haunt come afternoon and was blessed to encounter his twin as the winds stirred the summer air!

There seem to be additional dues to be paid for such successes this year. I missed a fine trout at week’s end, changed the fly and cast again. Unbelievably he took, though our association ended just as quickly in a broken strand of fluorocarbon. Another hour of searching brought this days’ search to a bitter end, when a backcast collapsed, the rod broken summarily at the ferrule.

I have several rods out of commission it seems: one broken along with my heart, a loose ferrule here, chipped varnish there. Of course, the clock is ticking on my own rod making project, a call I must answer today.

Make no mistake, the joys of this Catskill life are many, but the dues paid have proved stiff this season. On my last visit to the Rodmaker’s Workshop, I found one glued up rod tip ready for finish work, the other though mysteriously uncured. Alcohol removed the gooey mess of the faulty epoxy, and the tip was reglued thanks to John’s persistence. Today’s trip will reveal whether this second effort brings success. Much work remains, as I wish to complete the Angler’s Rest Special for the 31st Catskill Gathering in early September.