A Beautiful Day

I was sitting out on my porch just now, taking stock just how a beautiful day it is today. Yes, I am on the porch and still not on the river, but that isn’t the fault of the day. I do take some pleasure at Nature’s simple beauty, and I hope she saves a great deal of it for me when I finally venture forth where I long to be.

There was frost this morning, despite it is much closer to the middle of May than the beginning. I checked the river gages; a friend was expected here in the Catskills you see, and I wanted to see what the frosty night might have done to his chances of some fishing and offer the right suggestion. I frowned at his early chances with the temperature, though later found a message that his trip had been re-scheduled until late June. The rivers should welcome him a bit better then than after this morning’s sub-forty-five-degree flows. Though nothing to take for granted, I should be more than ready and able to show him some good fishing in early summer.

I am still hoping there will be some spring remaining once I am released from forced convalescence of course, even though I treasure my Catskill Summers.

I cannot expect any of those major spring hatches that give me hope through five or six months of our mountain winters, no Gordon Quills or Hendricksons, though I have been tying a couple of March Browns when both my mind and my fingers have grown fidgety. Perhaps there will be enough around to let me try out some of the new patterns I dove into their design in early winter. I hope so.

Expecting isn’t a word anymore when I talk about the Green Drakes. Perhaps my surest hope for them is that we have good flows on our rivers when however many of those flies show up. A few drakes can go a long way on the right day with the right conditions.

And so, another day winds down. Time to think about some supper and something to pass the hours before bed, trying not too how badly I miss as an afternoon like this in May blends into evening…