During recent days afield I am observing the settling in of summer. Spring has passed and summer has a firm grasp on life here in the North. The yellow sallies and BWO are in flight daily, and the trout are leaping for joy. I see dragonflies climbing up grassy stalks and hoppers leaping skyward. The brookies and bass of my home river are eternally vigilant and trying to eat all they can catch. The brown trout are eluding me, accept for the random hookup and loss. The burly browns of previous years are in a decline here on my home river and I dont know what to do about it.

The wild trout of the back country appeal to me more and more. Not being an elitest I will dunk a worm in a culvert in the quest for a few of these tasty panfish. Nothing tastes quite as good as a plate of these and some greens.

Tip: Slice a potato, add a pat of butter, and wrap in foil. Then wrap a trout in foil with lemon and butter. put both on the grill for about ten minutes or until fish flakes from bone. MMMMMMM…excellant camping fare.

As the heat settles in over the North country all life here changes it\'s patterns to suit the longer days. As an angler I have learned to do so as well. Although hatches can occur at most any time, the bigger and better ones all seem to come in the late afternoon and evening, as the day cools into the night. So be on the water for the last hour or two and you will catch more fish than at any other time. But be aware changing weather patterns could mean wind and this is one killjoy that we can\'t alter. Wind and hatches seldom occur at the same time. Look for calmer weather, hot days, cooler nights. Get several days of this occuring and the hatches will be popping all over the place.

From time to time I will intentionally mention the consumptive use of our fishing resouces. I am a firm believer in catch and release angling. But at the same time I know that I can take a few from time to time in selective places and not do any harm. In fact these trout dinners are often how I get the non-fishing friends or family acquaintances to try fishing. It\'s amazing what a grilled trout can do to convince a non-angler to pick up a rod and come fishing. You see the meal is the bait, and the experience is the hook. Now we have another angler helping to preserve and protect the resources. Ethics are learned behaviors and can only be taught to a student-minded person. One open to learning. A new angler is the perfect student and will absorb all you teach them, good or bad. So as you teach the means of fishing you have to instill in them the ethics of the anglers creedo. Intermixing it with fun and learning blends it all in their minds and integrates the knowledge as just one thought.

It\'s this integration that makes summer so calming. New life springs up and flourishes. All of the life around you is just \"Living\". There is no chaos in the rise of a trout. No confusions in drying wings lifting a new mayfly to the air on a summer breeze. This bursting of life energies is eternal. Knowing this is a calmness of spirit not to be found anywhere else but in God\'s great cathedral, creation. Summer springs eternal….all else is in preparation for these wonderful days of sun and living. Generation after generationÂ…. and still God\'s great machine, Life…..lives on.