Tangled Lines

After a stretch of very rainy weather and work that precluded fishing, I was able to beat it for the Catskills for a couple of days.

I wasn’t expecting much, and was pleasantly surprised to find fishable water.

LAKEVILLE — It was a busy week for the Tangled Lines community. Chris and Alice Sherwood of Sheridan, Wyoming,  were in the vicinity for a wedding and assorted reunion-type revelry, and fishing for wild brook trout was high on their agenda.

A couple weeks back Gary from Jewett took a ride over from his northern Catskill lair to annoy fish in a different setting.

The Housatonic flow was still pretty robust at 740 cfs and the wading was challenging. I was testing out a Dragontail tenkara rod, a 13-footer, and put a few trout in the net.

Let us open the Tangled Lines mail bag and see what’s on offer.

It’s been so cold and rainy that instead of fishing I am watching documentaries about secret societies. I even joined an order of guys who call themselves Templars. Am I going crazy?  Linus J. Scrimshaw, Perth Amboy, N.J.

The transition between winter and spring is a tough time for this pescador.

Every time it looks like the planets will align, there’s some weather, like the recent foot or so of snow.

I did take a whack at Housatonic in the no man’s land between the power station in Falls Village and the falls the day after the snowstorm.

It’s early March, and that means it’s tackle fondling time.

Connecticut and New York have both eliminated closed seasons for most inland trout fishing, but cold respects no human regulation.

And after the subzero temperatures on Feb. 3 and 4, I have not been in any big hurry to suit up and go fishing.

With a few hours in hand on Saturday, Jan. 14, I voyaged forth, looking for fishable water.

Stream number one was raging, which is what I was afraid of.

Stream number two I skipped, because getting in and out would require more time than I had.

Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean fishing is over.

Winter fishing has a lot going for it, including: snow, ice, frigid winds, general misery, and the very real chance of serious injury from taking a header on the ice.

There is also an excellent chance of developing hypothermia after taking an unscheduled bath.