Winter....it kind of sucks

One little thing I don't know that I mentioned here is that since last January, I lost 103lbs. Don't get me wrong. I'm still fat, just not as fat. So here I am, going through my first winter w/out an extra 100lbs of insulation, and I gotta say, I'm not a fan. The cold cuts right to the core of me now. I used to love winter, but now I'm far less tolerant of the frigid temps.

The other thing that sucks about winter is the fishing. I spent a significant amount of time on Valley this weekend, a stream that is usually teeming with trout. I fished with a group of four other guys, and we all got the skunk. Hard. In fact, every single person we talked to on the stream was getting the skunk. I even resorted to streamers to try and move some fish (this is a last resort for me!), nothing. I tried midges, scuds, BWOs (there was a healthy amount coming off the water), dry droppers, small nymphs, big nymphs, small streamers, big streamers, even green weenies. I tried up top, down deep and everywhere in the middle. There's gonna be days like this, I guess. Still, it was a really nice January day to be out. It was warmer than most days, the company was great, the scenery was nice, and the deer were on the move.

Monday I found out the answer to the age old question, "How cold is too cold?" I headed out to our local limestoner (Lititz Run) in hopes of a miracle (a trout actually feeding in the C&R FFO section). Midges are the order of the day on a cold winter day on that stream (or so I've been told), so I fished a weighted olive scud with a zebra midge floating above it. The wind chill was pretty brutal, and I couldn't find my fingerless gloves. I lasted 90 minutes, which is a drop in the bucket considering I was planning on being out for at least 3 hours. I covered not even half of the water I planned on fishing. I stopped often just to put my hands inside my fleece pockets. How cold is too cold? Wind chills in the teens is about what I can take, apparently.

On the upside, I fished Valley with the Featherlight 6'6" and I loved it. Going with the heavier line weight, I was able to do some nice casting, even from longer distances. The little graphite they're putting in these rods now to make them less floppy is a benefit. I wasn't sure how I'd like that addition, but its nice. It adds just enough firmness. I also received my Martin 61 (Tuna Can) in the mail on Wed. and got it lined and on the Fenwick. I love a loud reel like that.

I'm ready for spring.