Up North, rain is an event: Farmers need it to grow corn I’m still waiting for; the flowers and bushes “She Who Must Be Obeyed” planted and seem to come into every conversation when planning her day; and it benefits the streams and lakes. In other words, I need it to optimize my fishing opportunities.
A while back, in one of my columns for the Oakland Press, Macomb Daily and Daily Tribune, I recalled being in the Jordan on a cloudy day – doing quite well catching brookies – when it began to rain. It had rained for probably a half and hour before I realized I was getting as wet above my waist as below and water was dripping from my waxed cotton brimmed hat. It was almost instinct to turn toward the bank when I caught myself, chuckled, and resumed fishing.
The only thing rain means to a fly fisherman is he or she will probably change to an emerger, wet or terrestrial pattern to match the food that’s being washed into the river, giving greater exposure to what’s happening beneath the surface.
If it rains while sitting on a deck eating barbeque or while watching a parade, it’s a bummer; if it rains while standing in a river, fishing ….well, it’s just another pattern change.
TD
And then there is the embellished scent of pine in the air and the visual beauty of rain drops punctuating the river’s surface. And you say to yourself, “How blessed am I to be standing right here and right now!”
You understand.