I was able to sneak out (rather unexpectedly, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless) for an hour or two Sunday evening, and an hour or so after work tonight. Took home the skunk, heavy a Chub on Sunday, but caught a few looking up on a different stream tonight. First time since early December I had consistently more action on a small Brookie stream on dries than I did subsurface.

Pics:
Eastern Garter Snake...saw two of these Sunday evening.
Brookie with a size 16 Royal Wulff in its lip.

...both good signs!

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snakes are every where already. Forsythias are budding already this year is crazy. I'm thinking most major hatches will be 2 weeks early as others have stated.


Which means......... Sulphurs are right around the corner!

I'm waiting to stumble across my slithering "friends"; I haven't seen any yet, even around the house, but I expect to see the garters any time and the black snakes sometime in the next month. Now that I posted this, I'm also certain I'll see one or more streamside...

1) Trout rising to dries up north.
2) Spring Peepers singing.
3) Blackbird migration.
4) Dry leaves in the forest.
5) Frogs migraing and croaking in vernal ponds.
6) Wet Wading.

I was on the Allegheny yesterday and Elk Creek today. The insect activity is insane for this time of year. The stone flies were coming off the water like a blizzard today. I even saw a big male steelhead rise up and take one off of the surface. It was pretty cool. The only thing that sucks about this weather is that i'll have to mow my yard by the end of the week, but that's better than shoveling snow.

Chaz, wet wading? As in shorts and tennis shoes? That's pretty 'bad ass' i'm afraid to try that yet. Though, i did fall flat on my ass today in elk creek, lol.

I was out again today on a nearby C&R wild trout stream. A few fish were rising. I saw some black stoneflys and blue quills hatching. I caught eight native brookies and one wild brown on a dry fly of my own design. It was GREAT to be out again. The weather is wonderful!

i found myself in the woods about 9pm saturday evening. surprisingly it sounded like the woods of late spring/early summer at night, not the woods of late winter/early spring.

Never tennis shoes, I don't want any glass in my feet, Always wading shoes, with long pants.

Ah, dry fly fishing for native brookies on a small stream ... Several warm days ahead.

My forsythias and daffodils are in full bloom. And my weeping cherry tree is just beginning to flower out. I've never seen it bloom in march before.

And with the same warm weather forcast for the next few weeks, I think we'll likley see grannoms by the end of the month

I went out today in waders thinking "I can't possibly wet wade in March" and regretted it the whole time. Should have wet waded.

Another sign that spring is here? Mosquitos. God eaten up this evening.

+1 on mosquitos. Got hammered on the Salmon river and tonight at my sons t-ball practice.

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Yep, me too...got out the bug spray for the first time last night, after not having it, and wishing I did Sunday evening. One of the more unpleasant signs of Spring!

The other is that I'm pretty sure I'm gonna need to mow my grass this weekend...especially if we get any rain. The streams in my area could use some rain, but I really don't want to have to mow yet!

Well, yesterday, my flock of suburban turkeys were gathered into about 20, at least three males were actively displaying, one of which, on closer inspection had a hen trapped beneath him. They don't seek privacy apparently as the whole group seemed to be interested in the skirmish.

Just now had my view attracted to the window where two Robins were engaged in mid-air combat, up and down several times in the backyard.

And isn't this also the time a young man's fancy turns to love? I vaguely recall something like that from Shakespeare or someone.