I remember the days when I liked spring.
Warm, sunny afternoons. Beautiful blooms on the trees. Forests glowing with their bright green foliage. Fish stirring in the shallows and snapping at lures cast their way.
Yeah, that’s the way I envision the springs of my past.
But really, I probably have a case of selective memory. Spring has evolved into a bipolar creature in this part of the country.
You can have some really nice days. And you can see really crummy ones, too.
That’s the way it has been this spring. We had some beautiful weather in February and it teased us. The fish were biting way ahead of schedule. I remember days when friends and I caught more than 25 bass on suspending jerkbaits.
Now? Not so much. After more than a month and one-half of rollercoaster weather, the fishing is a hit-or-miss deal. Good luck figuring out a pattern.
Many fishermen have told me that they have experienced impressive fishing in one spot while the sun is shining and warming the water, only to see those fish disappear the next day in the midst of a crushing cold front.
The crappies and the bass must be getting tired of traveling in and out of their spawning areas. And fishermen are getting tired of trying to figuring out where the fish will be.
This week has been a perfect example. I fished a small private lake in eastern Kansas with a good friend of mine, Johnny White, on Monday. It was short-sleeve weather and the bass were active. We caught more than 50 bass in a wide range of sizes and it was spring at its finest.
A day later, though, the temperature dipped into the high 40s and low 50s, and I cancelled a planned trip. I’m an optimist when I’m fishing, but not that much of one.
Of course, that is nothing new for spring in our part of the country.
And neither is flooding, which may be headed for the Ozarks area after recent heavy rains. Reservoirs such as Table Rock, Bull Shoals and Norfork are above normal and are bracing for more high water in light of weather predictions for the next couple days.
Please don’t use this to argue your case about the evils of climate change. To be honest, I don’t know whether manmade causes are influencing the long-range weather or not.
I saw a humorous post on Facebook showing the cover of Time Magazine in 1974, predicting the next Ice Age. All kinds of distinguished “experts” were making dire predictions.
The only thing predictable about the spring weather these days is how unpredictable it will be. And I’m getting tired of it.