Whether you are a dogmatic Opening Day devotee or simply someone who appreciates the subtle changes in the weather, the shift from March to April is significant for trout anglers.

I’m a nostalgic aficionado of certain fly fishing rituals. Like cheap bamboo rods, there is no practical reason to pick up what many anglers did in the middle of the 20th century. But fly fishing isn’t particularly practical. Thus,  we can go through the motions or we can even just wax eloquently about the good old days that we didn’t ever live through.

Today I’m sharing three posts from the archives. Two are all about the tradition of opening day. One focuses on the adventure of the drive. I like them, and I think you will too.

Read a preview of each piece, and find a link to the articles, below:

Opening Day of Trout Season Still Matters

A quick survey of classic fly fishing literature from the middle of the 20^th century will show that opening day was highly regarded and celebrated by well-known personalities. It wasn’t a matter of being any less refined or educated. On one hand it was the only option. Furthermore, fly fishers of this period appreciated the ritual and the anticipation. It was their opening day, too.

In Memoriam: Opening Day

Without getting too deep in the weeds, the present reality of fisheries management allows anglers to be out doing something twelve months out of the year. In most states, that includes trout fishing. Catch and release on rivers with self-sustaining populations of wild fish might seem like the polar opposite of put-and-take ponds. Yet they both facilitate and entail year-round action. Opening day is unnecessary.

Before First Light

4:00 AM – The fast food place you usually go to is closed. A gross miscalculation. Coffee is essential, but if you don’t hit up a drive through the extra time spent parking, getting out of the car, etc. will definitely allow someone else to get on the water first. 4:30 AM – A sudden panic that you forgot your reel hits you. You should have packed your gear last night, not in the stupor of a coffee-less early morning rush. Ooh… coffee. But you can’t pull over. You’ll just buy a new reel and line at the shop by the stream. It would be cheaper than turning around. Plus, that reel was old.