For the past few weeks, the Stray Caster has had visions of digging out his long rod and oiling his reel at the kitchen table.
It has been an incredibly busy fall, and numerous times over the past few weeks, people have stopped the Stray Caster on the streets and marvelled at the wonderously sunny weather (better than it was most of the summer) and asking, “Why aren’t you out fishing?”
The answer is easy – and difficult. The easy answer is the weather is simply too nice. Day after day of sunshine means low water in trout rivers and also clear waters. The Stray Caster would love to be fishing about 30 hours after a heavy rain has stopped.
That would mean the water is dropping and clearing just a little. Enough that a trout can see a yarn fly or a roe bag, or even one of those plastic trout worms that the Stray Caster has seen his fishing pal, Wally Ward, use so effectively. Heck, even a mild drizzle would be welcome.
The fact is, though, that the Stray Caster has been swamped at work, and, while Mrs. Stray Caster wants him to get out and fish, other issues keep him at home. First, Matthew-Adam is well into his hockey season. He plays at noon in Hillsburgh this Saturday, so figure out how to get a day’s fishing out of that schedule.
Plus, with home ownership comes other responsibilities, such as Mrs. Stray Caster commenting on the length of the lawn and how it should be cut at least “one more time” before the year ends.
The Stray Caster has noted that the lawn is now filled with leaves, and he is hoping against hope that his better half might not notice the long grass as the leaves hide it. And the Stray Caster has long ago convinced everyone with any common sense that raking leaves is idiocy. Leaves all over a lawn are compost already in place.
Next year, he can assure one and all, there will be grass growing, and somehow, all those leaves will be gone.
The savings on those store-bought bags for them is merely a bonus.
And so it is that the Stray Caster has been plotting for weeks to do some trout fishing. The wet weather that began on Wednesday this week might be an indication that better fishing times are ahead.
In any case, this will be the last Stray Casts column for a while – at least until the Stray Caster gets off his duff, squeezes into his waders (which have a tendency to shrink when hung in the closet), and gets out to chase the mighty rainbow trout.
He is actually hoping to be able to write next week, but that will depend on a number of factors – all out of his control, and starting with the weather. If it rains just right and the chores can be delayed, there just might be some decent fishing, and the Stray Caster will be back writing.
Until then, tight lines.
