Catching the Window

To me, there is no better sound to fall asleep to than that of moving water. It’s the white noise itself, but I also think it’s the knowing that water is nearby. When I have this luxury, it usually means that I just went fishing or am about to go fishing, or both, which is a most pleasant way to end a day. I find that I drift into slumber more quickly and deeper than in most other environments and it’s not uncommon for the water or fishing to make its way into my dreams too. For anyone who likes fishing whenever they’re awake, fishing while asleep is a perfect complement.

Pre-runoff trout fishing in the Rockies is an exercise in timing, especially when trying to catch fish in a certain way. Everything is more brief in spring: sunlight, warm weather windows, hatch durations, feeding times, favorable water flows and conditions, et cetera. And the season itself is sleepy, encourages late starts, extra insulation and, like an afternoon nap, comes and goes quickly, if you’re able to catch it at all. If you weren’t there to meet it, then it may as well never have happened…

Click here to continue reading on Trout Unlimited’s website.

This story was written for Trout Unlimited’s Priority Waters program and is based on a moment from the half-year that I spent in Paradise Valley. The video below is a collection of windows from that spring, including the one described in the story.