Changing Seasons

Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower. -Albert Camus

Sometimes I think I am more in tune with the changing of the seasons than I am the actual season. Then again, I've never actually seen my feminine side, let alone been in touch with it, so maybe I'm wrong..

In truth, we as fishermen have a vested interest in the passing of spring to summer, fall to winter, and so on. These changes signal something hard coded in our brain, something primal that says-"Hey, I bet the fish are biting!" Ok, maybe it's a bit deeper "something" than that, but you get the point.

Ho Hum, just another Autumn day in the Ozarks..

Fish react to the changes in the season, too. Spring brings lust. Summer, contempt. Fall finds most binge feeding in preparation for the long cold. Winter; sloth. As fishermen, we react according to the fish's mood; aggressive, passive, aggressive, passive.

I truly believe the passionate angler understands the changing of the seasons even more so than the most ardent and trained meteorologist. To us, it means more than change; it represents the seasons in a fisherman's life.

A fisherman's life tacks with the seasons; Spring equals the birth of the fire. The beginning of our passion for the piscine. Summer is the equivalent of our prime. We become an angler in the summer. 

Spring = Rebirth..

Fall brings with it knowledge earned in summer. Long days on the water teach us our prey's habits. In the fall, we start thinking like the objects of our desire; where will I get my next meal, the dark time is approaching. The urge to be at the right place, at the right time, as often as possible, is strong. It means survival. the long, cold winter approaches and our instinct to react is as strong now as it was a million years ago.

Where many fall slow pokes end up....

Winter is my favorite time to fish; mostly because less of you are fishing with me ( evidence to the contrary aside, i am a solitary creature). But also because winter brings with it a freshness. Clear water, cold air, campfires, cowboy coffee by the river.

Several years back, I was invited to join a group of men on the Little Red for their annual winter trip. The purpose of this trip was to catch the big brown trout that choose late November and December to do their "business". And I emphasize MEN because thats what they are. No false pretense, no facades. They have become my best friends. I cherish every single moment I have with them, on the phone or the river. David Moore, Mike Rawls, Glenn Key. Winter was the appropriate time to make their acquaintance. Our trips involve early mornings, camp fires, cowboy coffee and all the things that make winter what it is: magical. Oh, and we even manage a few fish in the between times...

David Moore, me, Glenn Key

For some reason, I can never seem to get Rawls in the same frame as the rest of us, but, here he is;

Mike Rawls and a buddy.

As we start the descent into winter, I am reminded of a quote by Zane Grey- "Love grows more tremendously full, swift, poignant, as the years multiply." True, in life and fishing.

See you out there......