Winter will return, but in the meantime...

I get antsy this time of year.

I’m tired of winter, ready for spring, bare ground and open water.

Looking out the window while I write, I see blue sky and bright sun. It’s not hard to imagine it’s already another season.

But it’s not.

Despite appearances, it’s still winter, and will be for more than another month.

However, that’s not to say there aren’t spring-like opportunities out there. Pick the right day and you can forget all about winter.

A friend and I floated the Bighorn River in early February a couple of years ago and nearly had the place to ourselves. The river was ice free, the temperature in the high 40s. We cast wooly buggers to hungry trout, shed our fleece by mid-day, and even got a little sun.

I drove home the next day in a blizzard on snow-covered roads.

The Yellowstone and Madison rivers offer the same winter floating opportunities.

At times.

You just have to be ready.

This isn’t the time of year to procrastinate or make long-term plans. If it’s 45 degrees and the wind isn’t blowing, go, jump on it. Tomorrow’s high might be in the teens. It’s tough to fish with ice in your guides.

Winter will return. It always does. If not this month, then the next. March is called the cruelest month for a reason.

I’ve lost count of the March fishing trips that were cut short by the weather, the mornings I awoke to a snow-covered camp.

We’d drive into town for breakfast hoping the weather would change by the time we returned, but it seldom did. The wind usually just picked up a bit. At least in February, my expectations aren’t so high. I know winter isn’t over. I expect it to return at any time.

But in the meantime, the sun is out and the wind isn’t blowing. There’s not a storm in the forecast. The ground is bare, although it’s thawing and muddy.

The ice is already starting to break up on some of the big lakes, and water is flowing over the ice on the smaller creeks and streams.

It won’t be long.

Or it will be.

So don’t wait.

Get out there before the weather changes again.

Winter’s not over. It’s simply cutting us a little slack.

Take advantage.

Parker Heinlein is at [email protected]