Fishing Lines

Matthew Dickerson, Addison Independent, September 5, 1997

For those interested in the history of fishing literature, FISHERS' CRAFT and LETTERED ART (R. Hoffman) provides insight into the surge of fishing literature at the end of the middle age. It includes translations of three books from ~1500. One, a "Dialogue between a Hunter and a Fisher", has two characters argue the moral merits of their pursuits. It begins with the Fisher lamenting:

"What gentlemen is coming along the river bank with the thunder of such great shouts? If my fortune does not deflect him so that he does not come by here, without fail the fish which are now biting will flee from such great din as he and his dogs and servants are making."

Though hunters today do not make so great a din as the royal hunts of the middle ages, I found the line humorous and appropriate to the season. Unfortunately, summer is almost over. There are only 7 weeks left of fishing season. Then come the long lonely months waiting for that Saturday in April.

But rather than despair, consider the positive side. Autumn fishing in Vermont can be wonderful for several reasons.

1. A large number of fishermen will soon pack up their rods in favor of shot-guns. Once hunting season rolls around, many outdoor enthusiasts disappear from the streams. Though it can be nerve-wracking wading a river to the sounds of bird-hunters in the nearby meadow, it's a price I'm willing to pay for the added solitude on the water.
2. As a million leaf-peepers a weekend notice, Vermont is a beautiful place to be in Autumn. Though I tire of pulling dead leaves off the end of my line on a windy day, I never tire of standing in a stream looking at the distant hillsides flaming with your favorite overused metaphor for beautiful leaves.
3. Finally, the weather cools. Not that this past summer was bad; it was the nicest for fishing in a long time. Still, fishing improves when the days shorten. September and October don't require one to rise quite so early to catch fish, and allow for longer days on the river without overheating. More important, the fish don't overheat but often feed through the day storing up winter fat. Brown and brook trout are fall spawners.

Not unlike the humans who pursue them, spawning fish can be very agressive. Those illusive lunkers that grew big over the summer by being exceptionally picky suddenly grow downright offensive, chasing any object that comes across their path as if it were a rival suitor. Taking advantage of this, I switch to much bigger lures this time of year. I snip off the #16 Adams at the end of my tippet and tie on the largest ugliest hopper in my vest, or perhaps a big streamer pattern. (A small brook trout imitation is a killer.) Spinning rods, which all summer have cast nothing but small spinners, suddenly do well with big splashy Rapalas. The fish are also moving around, passing through places that held nothing during the hot months. Bigger trout come out of their deep holes to feed actively in shallow riffles. Success can be had at the mouths of small tributaries where trout congregate to spawn. As October rolls on, don't hestitate to wade a hundred yards or more up a tiny stream expecting big fish. More than anything, however, fall is a time to succomb to the burning desire. The early sixteenth century author of DIALOGUE illustrates how well the fishing mind was understood even 500 years ago.

"Hunter: Your fishing is so coveted that you suffer from the desire to do it? Fisher: I will tell you this much. If there were only one river in all the world and if that river were five hundred leagues beyond Jerusalem, I would go there to fish."