| A Time for a Change |
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| Friday, 15 September 2006 | |
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Fall is in the air. The leaves are beginning to show the hues of yellow and red. The evening temperatures are cooling off enough for a light jacket. The heat and humidity of a Mid-South summer is giving way to dry air and clear blue skies. The days are growing shorter and soon we will be changing the clocks back an hour ending daylight savings time. Nature is in transition and so am I. During this time of year, I change my focus from bass and bream to trout. The warm water season has ended and I am now changing both gear and tactics. First, I inspect my waders. I hosed them off the last time I wore them and let them hang to dry. I take my wading sandals out of my wader bag and put them in a box in the top of the closet. I put my waders, gravel guards, wading boots and staff in the wader bag. In the bag’s side pocket I pull out the sun gloves and replace them with fingerless felt gloves. I also throw in a wool watch cap and a balaclava for those really cool days on the river. Finally, I throw in a pair of liner socks and an extra pair of wool wading socks. I go into the closet to find my “lucky fishing sweater.” This old rag wool sweater went off to college with me and its better days have certainly passed. It has several holes in it from close encounters with barbed wire and brush. I would not wear this sweater out in public anymore, but it makes a great fishing sweater. It has accompanied me on several trips all the way from the hills of eastern Kentucky to the high mountains of Colorado. The wool still retains heat even when wet and it keeps me nice and toasty on cool mornings on the stream. Now for the big change... the vest. In the summers, I wear a chest pack or just shove fly boxes in pockets of a casting shirt. In the winter, I wear a vest to carry extra items. When the weather warms in the middle of the day, I may have to shed my lucky fishing sweater. The vest allows me to stuff the sweater in the back pocket and keep on fishing. I usually carry a wading jacket in the back pocket of the vest also. I tend to carry an extra spool during the cooler months taking a cue from Roger Maler. Roger’s sink-tip method is deadly on trout. It seems to work best for me in the fall and winter months, so I keep this extra spool of sinking line handy. I inspect my poppers and bass flies. They have been thrown into the boxes and some still have tippet hanging from the eye. I will cut off the excess tippet and arrange them by color, pattern and like size. These boxes will go into the top of the closet with my wading sandals until next year. Taking a tip from Mike Stark, I have added a bottle of sunscreen into my vest for the fall. The sun is actually closer to the earth in the winter, so I am not taking any more chances. I want to fish for several more years. I carry what might be considered unnecessary items in the winter which increases the weight of my vest. I carry a compass because my sense of direction is limited to up and down. I carry a package of water-proof matches, a small first aid kit and an extra bandana. I have never had to light a fire, but I still carry them. When fishing in eastern Kentucky in college, we would often hike in miles to fish a stream. We would literally be miles from anywhere and I always carried the first aid kit, just in case. I have used the first aid kit, but never on myself. For me, the change from bass to trout is not as extreme as the seasonal change. The change does require some planning and preparation. I will be driving further to get to trout streams and will be exposed to colder temperatures. I need to be ready for the great fall and winter fishing in Arkansas. See you on the stream. I will be the guy in the old worn sweater. -Robert Prytula |
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