They say that the rivers are going to crest big-time in coming weeks, and Your Scribe agrees. Here is the Sandy River in Franklin County, often quite tranquil. But it moving fast here, and pushing at its boundries.

The snow on the shores indicates that it is still difficult to get to the water for a few casts. That will change, of course, but the first week of fishing season has been a slow one.

(An aside: I always claim I can't catch trout but this fast-moving water - aided by a generous stocking program - indicates that there should be trout here.)

(Aside No. 2 - When I worked in Louisiana at the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the streams and small tributaries would frequently overflow. That action would flush out the crawfish - and make for scary driving. I didn't mind squashing a few crawdaddies but local residents would amble along the sides of the road picking up the potentially tasty morsals made for hazardous driving.)

This is a great season to ski - but clearly we are not yet at an optimum time for fishing.

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