Well sir, another tornado warning right here in Hancock, New York has just passed. I didn’t hear too much wind while the weather man on the television was talking about measured velocities at 3,500 feet of altitude, but we certainly had some beat down rain! The rivers are already rising, just a few minutes after the storm passed.
This is our third tornado warning right here in the southwestern edge of the Catskills, three in eight years, and the second one not long ago produced an F-1 tornado touching down just along the east end of our village, snapping and tossing a forest of mature pines along the East Branch of the Delaware. There seems little doubt that our climate is changing. Things have gradually become more extreme. Summers are hotter and drier, but the winters have been longer and colder too. The droughts have been worse and the storms too.
Anglers are more comfortable with fairly frequent gentle rains, moderate balmy summers and mild, wet winters. All of those things are good for the rivers we cherish and the trout and insect life which provide the magic in flyfishing. I think most of the people in this region would like those weather patterns too. Most, either directly or indirectly benefit from the rivers and the fly fishing they provide.
Our rivers will probably have some color tomorrow but will clear up and be fishable for the weekend. The tailwater rivers might just get a boost in the contents of their reservoirs too, depending how far north this storm front travels. Most importantly, we managed to get through this one without the mayhem of another tornado!
I prefer to do my worrying about my dwindling supply of wood duck flank feathers, rather than destruction and floods. Being retired means I should be entertained by smaller matters: which fly line really casts best with my Leonard rods and should I buy more of the leaders I have been using this year before the maker changes them, so they don’t work for me. Of course, how in the world am I going to find enough wood duck has serious implications, though it isn’t going to knock down any trees.
Bright Waters Catskill 