The high, bright sun was quite deceiving today as I found out when I stepped out on my deck with my coffee this morning thinking I would enjoy a little spring warmth and instead was hit in the face with the frosty air. I had intended to walk out to the pond in my t-shirt, but changed direction and went back inside. It looked so warm outside from in the kitchen! Robins and other songbirds moved among the shrubs and trees, the dark green shafts of daffodils reached through the brown leaves, seeking the sun, and the snow that covered the steep hill was gone.
I didn't fish, but I did make it over to Tim Flagler's where I tied a midge emerger pattern for this week's video. It was good to tie for a video after a long layoff, and also do some catching up with Tim. After the long winter we've had we are both looking forward to getting on the stream regularly and using the many flies we've tied from having to stay inside and off the rivers the last few months.
After I left Tim's, I went down the South Branch of the Raritan River and checked out a few of my favorite spots to fish, The river is in great early spring shape; a little high and clear, and despite all the ice that covered it just a few shorts weeks ago, the pools and runs don't appear to have changed much since the fall. I also saw a few little black stoneflies in the air and on the rocks, which always gets me excited for the coming season.
I did tie a bunch of flies after I got home, and even made it out to the pond where some midges sat placidly on the surface, undisturbed by the still sluggish fish suspended just above the bottom below. A lone tadpole stirred the silt as it wiggled away from my shadow to deeper water. The pond is spring fed, and the spring is flowing well from the rocks along the edge, so well in fact, that it is overflowing onto the surrounding rocks and landscaping.
That's it. I'm just warming up for what I hope will be a good spring with plenty of reports here.
Sharpen your hooks.
After I left Tim's, I went down the South Branch of the Raritan River and checked out a few of my favorite spots to fish, The river is in great early spring shape; a little high and clear, and despite all the ice that covered it just a few shorts weeks ago, the pools and runs don't appear to have changed much since the fall. I also saw a few little black stoneflies in the air and on the rocks, which always gets me excited for the coming season.
I did tie a bunch of flies after I got home, and even made it out to the pond where some midges sat placidly on the surface, undisturbed by the still sluggish fish suspended just above the bottom below. A lone tadpole stirred the silt as it wiggled away from my shadow to deeper water. The pond is spring fed, and the spring is flowing well from the rocks along the edge, so well in fact, that it is overflowing onto the surrounding rocks and landscaping.
That's it. I'm just warming up for what I hope will be a good spring with plenty of reports here.
Sharpen your hooks.
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