Day 47 - Weather Wondering

On days like today I wonder what the fishing would have been like. It's a warm October day, with gray cloud cover overhead. Storms are expected to be rolling in tonight, so the temperature is expected to drop. Tomorrow is supposed to be even cooler with a mix of rain. Unfortunately, I can only speculate on what it would have been like to have been on the stream.

Anglers tend to hold mix feelings with good weather. While mid-80's and clear skies wink at a fun day on the beach or trail, it tends to be not strong fish producing days. Which is really funny when you think about how many anglers are shoulder to shoulder on the streams during these days. I once heard those days as being referred as "bluebird" days. I'm guessing it has to do with the bright blue sky and the absence of clouds.

These sunny days are mix bag to anglers because while the weather is comfortable to the angler, it doesn't always produce good fishing for a number of reasons. On sunny days, trout tend to seek shelter. We have to remember that a trout is always wary of predators: otters, hawks, eagles... least of their concern is the angler. As such, sudden shadows or unknown images that suddenly show up scare the crap out them.

Hot summer days also force anglers to fish at extreme times. The sun warms up the water temp above the optimal feeding temps for trout. Typically a trout cruises for food when the water temperature is about 60 degrees +/- a few degrees. The summer sun can heat water temps well up into the 70's and even 80's. When this happens those opportunistic mouths with fins and tails seek shadows and cooler water. When the sun dips down and the water cools, the trout tend to cruise the water. As such, we tend to use headlamps when coming back to the truck.

So back to today... I wonder what tactics I would employ on a day like today. I imagine that I could be a little less stealthy as the cloud cover would not throw any shadows onto the stream. Being October, I imagine the water temps would be perfect around noon time. Plus the incoming cold front makes me think the fish would cruise a little heavier for food. All in all, I think it would be an OK day to hit the stream a little late. Just thinking though... I could totally be wrong.