April fools!!!

 At 2:30 Monday morning Jean and I backed out of the driveway down in the Florida Keys and headed home. Why such an early start? It's the only way to avoid the stop and go traffic in the Keys and the six lane wide (in each direction) commuter nightmare around Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. We passed one truck in the 60 mile drive up the Keys and drove up an almost empty six lane highway through south Florida. First serious traffic we encountered was while passing through Jacksonville at 9:00 am. Our trip was in light to moderate traffic and we checked into a hotel in Winchester Virginia at 8:00pm after a seventeen and a half hour drive. We arrived home at 12:30 on Tuesday to find ice still on the trout pond and a blanket of snow covering most of our north facing wood lot. 

With Cannonsville spilling and Pepacton on the verge of doing so, there was no hurry to get down to the fishing camp. Packed the car this morning and drove down for the grand opening. The male robin  that knocked himself senseless against his reflection in the porch window last year has been back but he either has gotten smarter or has just arrived as the mess (he literally knocks the crap out of himself ) is not nearly as bad.

Last fall I removed the leaky drain from the bottom of the hot water heater. The replacement project ran into a problem and I left the job unfinished. Consulted with my 90 year old retired plumber friend during the winter and tackled the job as soon as I got here. Went smooth as silk, filled the water tank with no hint of a leak, turned it on and presto hot water. Not to be out done, the fridge made a batch of ice cubes while I was working on the water heater. Both are now in their 33rd year of service and apparently plan on outlasting me.

Saw four boats on the WB on the way down. Air temp was 36 degrees. Anticipation is a great motivator but I would much rather catch a half dozen fish on a pseudo hatch in October or November than float the river in a snow/rain combo event in April. On the positive side, there is very little snow currently on the ground and if the predictions for the next few days are right, the warm rain will melt what's left of it. There are alewives in the WB and they will be in the UEB with the next rain. If you just have to go bring your streamers, a big enough rod to cast them, hire a guide to float you and dress warm. Me? I'll sit here and try to get the book ready to print.  

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