One more month

“Time’s a wasting.”

—Snuffy Smith (a cartoon character drawn by Al Capp)

In a short time, trout fishers will emerge from their caves, yawn and rub their eyes and greet a new day. For New Yorkers, the trout season is less than a month away. Be sure to read the fishing regulations regarding tributaries to the Delaware River. Several of these are not open to fishing until Pennsylvania’s opening day, which is Saturday, April 12.

Right about now, the gravel in many a brook is witnessing the miracle of birth, as trout eggs, which have been buried therein since November, changed some weeks ago into tiny alevins, each with its own tiny yolk sac. Most of these will now have absorbed their egg sac, turning into trout fry, and will be swimming up through the covering gravel. Now their race for survival begins. Zooplankton and other tiny organisms will serve as the food supply of the tiny fry. At this stage of their lives they have two main concerns: avoiding larger fish, which would consider them a meal, and taking in enough nutrients to fuel their growth. The survival rate for trout fry is generally believed to be only three or four out of every 100, which will become three- to four-inch fingerlings by the fall of the year. It’s a tough life down there under the water, gentle reader. Mother Nature is not a compassionate mom. One little mistake and you are gone. No second chances.

Once these fish pass through the fingerling and yearling stages, they become the fish most hoped for by an angler. That is why it is so important to gently release any small, wild trout that comes to your hand. The man who slaughters piglets has no hope of raising hogs. Barb and I made the decision long ago to release all of our trout, just taking a picture of the occasional large one before quickly returning it to the water. Larger trout, after all, are the mommas and the poppas of those little fry now wriggling up through their gravelly redds.

In hopeful anticipation of counting coup with a number of larger trout, I have been busy at my fly tying vice. I have tied a number of the neatest ant patterns that I have ever produced. I have also tied a number of Roan Antelope beetle imitations in the style suggested by A. K. Best. From mid-May through October, I find a size #14 beetle or black ant to be an excellent searching pattern when there is no surface activity. In addition, I have finally mastered a technique that allows me to tie soft hackle patterns as small as size 18. I will admit tying those little 18s has me sweating profusely and sometimes cussing, but they are worth the effort.

Also tied were some experimental emerger patterns to imitate the Pale Evening Duns as they escape their nymphal shucks while in the film of the current. These incorporate a tiny, bright yellow glass bead for the thorax. I have tested their floatability in the Elm Fork of the Trinity and they behaved perfectly.

That demon night fisher, Jack Mynarski of Paupack, PA, gave me a new tip for treating my dry flies. Jack suggests soaking the fly in a product called Rain-X, sold by Wal-Mart or any auto parts store. Doing this will not darken body colors or gum up rooster or cul de canard hackle. Nor will it make the fly material unnaturally stiff. After wetting the fly, place it on a Kleenex or paper napkin and let it dry a few hours. I’ve tested this and it works great. Time’s a wasting; tie those flies, oil those reels, the “sweet of the year” will soon be upon us.