I was really hoping for a mild winter with unseasonably warmer temperatures and rain instead of snow, but thus far, that hasn't been the case. Maybe I have forgotten the past few years, but I can't recall anchor ice forming this early in the season. On a recent morning sojourn to the new home waters, the temperature was in the twenties and several deep pools that held stocked trout were frozen over. This forced me into a minor conundrum because I only had two hours before guests were arriving to my apartment for a holiday extravaganza. All I wanted was to escape for a short while and maybe feel a tug on the end of my line as this would be my only excursion for the weekend. On the other side of the equation, I ended up walking and fishing a good half mile of water that I had never fly fished before. I found some new spots to put in the memory bank for some extended sessions later on. I didn't land any trout, but I was on the water, and I was content. I ended up finding a dead American eel some twenty inches long and had fun following my good friend, the Great Blue Heron around the creek. Better luck next time.
