Summertime, and the Living is Easy

It's turning out to be an interesting summer, up here in Truckee. The season was slow to arrive, as was the case elsewhere in California, but what I find fascinating is that this summer, so far, is kind of lush. The trees and bushes and grasses and flowers all seem nearly bursting with vitality, and the animal life likewise appears more robust than in recent years. Every tree in my yard is apparently home to a gray squirrel or a chickaree. Rodents are in such abundance that yesterday, I saw an obviously well-fed coyote strolling the back forty with what I'm guessing was nary a care in the world.

What this all means for angling is not yet clear. Assuming that environs on land have a noticeable effect on those in the water, we might expect to see, over time, more prolific hatches and more and larger trout. But the prolonged cool temperatures of spring slowed early hatch activity, and this could have an echo effect throughout the season. We'll just have to see, which might actually be a good reason to hit the river. Call it research in the field.

Speaking of getting hitting the river, I’ll close with an observation from a friend of mine: “There are four seasons in Truckee: almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction." This year's spring literally being "still winter" meant that when summer finally rolled in, you could feel the change in season almost as a visceral physiological reaction, as if your body was exclaiming, "Get outdoors! Fish!" Indeed, we're in a good water year; speculations regarding hatches aside, I think the trout angling is going to be great this summer. And, if we're lucky, "almost winter" won't arrive until, well, winter.

Get outdoors! Fish!

Richard Anderson