Fishing - TR: Summer weekend in April

We've been enjoying an unusual-for-April string of good weather here in the
Great Lakes region, a full 10 days worth of sunshine and unseasonably warm
weather. Despite trees just beginning to leaf out, bare ground is already
dry and cracked, looking like an odd mix between spring and August. Here in
Cleveland, April is more commonly cold and wet, or even snowy.

Watching the weather all last week, I plotted an outing on Sunday to a
relatively nearby favorite stream. The weather remained gorgeous all week,
with temperatures rising. Sunday it was near 70 and mostly sunny. Joining
me on the trip was a former professor of mine- I suppose I should call him a
colleague now. It was good to have convivial companionship for the day.
Bright and early we rendezvoused on the town square and headed for a stretch
of stream I'd promised to show him. We kept to the delayed harvest section,
not a bad choice for PA opening weekend. Seemed like most of the crowds
stuck to the standard regs water. We only saw a few other fishermen all
day.

Water was low, clear and reasonably warm. Not much in the way of hatches,
other than some midges and occasional caddis. Trout were visibly taking
nymphs and splashing to the emergers from time to time. Made for relatively
tough but rewarding fishing.

Right at the beginning of the day we watched a father with his two young
sons fish a well known hole. The father took a fish or two, despite his
boys wading right through the hole. They must have been actually stepping
on fish, I think. It was good to see them out with their father, but we
remarked on how he could have been teaching them better wading techniques.

Best fish of the day was a fat, feisty and colorful 14" rainbow taken on a
caddis pupa emerger.

It's been an excellent early season for me, and I hope it continues right
through the summer!

Bill