Where did Spring Go?

Last Friday I saw 60F for the first time since later October.  By Sunday we had rain, snow, sleet, sunshine, and sleet once again.  As I sit here it is raining and feels much colder out than the 36F the thermometer reads.  Springtime in the Rockies is an interesting time.  Before moving here I envisioned this being the cruelest season.  I suspected that after a long, cold, brutal winter I'd be so sick of the cold that I'd be dying to get out of here.  Fortunately that hasn't been the case at all.  Thanksgiving was in fact the most difficult time as it was -20F and I knew there was 6 months of cold coming.  Now that we are on the tail end of the cold it is a lot easier to take. 
I haven't really gotten excited to sit down and stock my flyboxes with Mother's Day Caddis, or even anymore Baetis patterns.  I sit down tie 3 or 4 flies and then get bored and move on to something else.  I suppose I had better just make myself tie for a day to get ahead. 
Anyway, I did get out on Saturday and fished one of my favorite freestones before the storm came in.  It was an interesting day to say the least.  It started with my first cast resulting in a tangled mess.  Even great casters occasionally get a tangle when throwing weight, an indicator, and a couple of flies but it usually doesn't happen on your first cast of the day.  What a start....after rigging myself up a second time I made a cast and had a solid hookup.  This river isn't known for producing fish much over 17" with any sort of regularity.  It certainly has some quality fish but they aren't something you get to see on a regular basis.  The fish made a leap after crossing the run and heading downstream and I saw a solid 20" Rainbow.  As soon as I got excited about that it came unbuttoned.  That hurt but I guess it's better to have loved and lost....I guess.

I went downstream a bit more and a guy on the other bank got off his earth mover to ask how the fishing was.  This river is notorious for rich, sometimes famous, landowners being less than friendly to wading anglers.  This guy was very nice and wanted to chat so we did so for a bit.  Eventually he went back to work we caught some quality fish and started working our way back upstream. 

Perhaps 20 minutes later my new found friend wanted to chat some more.  This time about the economy, his business, rent in Bozeman, and the list went on.  I tried to be polite and patient as I tied on a different fly.  As I was distracted I didn't reel in all my flyline.  By the time I had tied on the new fly and went to make a cast my legs were literally tied up in the flyline.  A couple of movements and a brand new line was broke.  It beats going face first into the river and filling my waders.  Needless to say I was pretty pissed as I really had no desire to talk with this guy to begin with and was just trying to be polite.  Anyway I tied the line back together and figure I'll fish it until a big fish parts the two sections.  Sure I'd be pissed if it happened but it also be pretty funny to see 35' of flyline dangling mid river giving away the location of the fish that took the fly. 

Within an hour or so of this fun the wind came in earnest and the rain started.  Sustained 40mph winds were the norm until the rain finally came down hard enough to force us off the water.  In spite of the lost fish, broken equipment, heavy wind, and rain it was great fun to be on the water.  I hope that never changes.  I hope however many years I have on this planet I continue to both be able to fish and enjoy fishing.