Those dries, today, were Isonychia, Century Duns and a 100-Year Dun on big size 10 hooks. They were fashioned with a hope that I see those big claret-colored mayflies come early June. They have been spotty these last few years, as have many of our mayflies.
The sunshine drew me outside, though I knew it’s shining warmth was a lie. The air still hovers below freezing, though it feels a bit warmer walking in the direct sunlight. Saturday’s thaw was short lived, and I recorded all of seven and a half degrees this morning after sunrise.
I enjoyed my riverwalk, hailing the bald eagle soaring down along the strip of open water along the east bank of the East Branch. I doubt he had found anything fishy along that shoreline, with most of the river still silent under a cap of ice and snow. The snow and ice we have been warned of for the morning won’t make tomorrow’s hunt any better for him, but Wednesday afternoon is boasting of 49 degrees and sunshine, with Thursday just about as warm and bringing nearly three quarters of an inch of rain. The combination just might be enough to break the ice’s hold on our Catskill rivers.
It’s tough to try to hold onto expectations for March, for a few days of mild, sunny weather can tease you into believing spring has sprung, then be followed by snow driven by thirty mile per hour winds.
I look at March as a take what Mother Nature gives you kind of situation. I know I won’t find any dry fly fishing, but there can be a run or two of really nice days when it simply feels great to get out on the water. I can wander riverbanks and swing a Copper Fox, take a slim chance on running into a big, hungry brown.
The slow swing, bumping rocks along the river bottom is an easy way to get my casting muscles into shape. It is comfortable fishing, devoid of any serious expectations. Trout don’t feed much when the water is in the thirty something degree range, but there is always a chance to find one down there poking around because it’s his day.
I’ll take one of my old Orvis’s, or the Steve Kiley eight-footer with a heavy six or seven line. If there’s a stronger flow, a clear intermediate will get the nod, while low flows call for the floater. I don’t need a vest, just a bit of a chest pack, a small box of flies and a spool of 3X tippet. There often aren’t a lot of those days, so I enjoy one when it comes, saving the cold blustery days for drift boat chores, etc.
The ghost in my laptop just popped a tiny snowflake onto the bottom corner of my screen, with a message I don’t want to see: “3 in. of snow Tuesday”. I’d rather that system pass quickly through overnight and let Wednesday’s warmup arrive a day early!
Just maybe I’ll wrap a few Red Quill bodies and then rustle up a Cold Snap while I let their hard lacquered coating dry. Sounds like a plan…
Bright Waters Catskill 