Surprise Snow

Snowy bank of Big Wilson Creek in Western North Carolina. Photo by Tim Mead

I guess I can't say the snow was a total surprise. The forecast I'd looked at had said there was a 40 percent chance of light snow Tuesday during the overnight hours, with a possible accumulation of an inch. However, when I peeked out he hotel window on Wednesday morning, there was already much more than an inch on the ground, and the snow was still falling steadily.

I didn't mind. Not at all, actually. Tim Mead and I had already enjoyed one sunny day of fishing the Delayed Harvest section of Big Wilson Creek in Western North Carolina, and the snow would provide opportunities for a completely different set of photos from the same section of stream.

Travel was super slow on the snow-covered winding roads, the fish bit better on the sunny day, and we cut our fishing time fairly short for a couple of snow- and cold-related reasons (including a clumsy slip on my part that left me with soaked gloves and one sleeve wet to the elbow in 28-degree air). Nevertheless, I got to spend an absolutely delightful day with a very good friend exploring a stream that looked very different than Southern Appalachian streams normally look.

The careful drive to the river on the snowy highways and slow travel through Wilson Creek Gorge, which is downstream of where we fished, only added to the adventure. We stopped several times in the gorge to take photos of the river as it crashed between snow-covered boulders and poured over icy waterfalls. Even the walk to the river carried an added sense of an adventure because of the snow.

We actually only landed one trout (a nice rainbow) on the snowy day, but fish alone don't make or break fishing days. Work-wise, the day was a great success because of the unique snowy photos I was able to get. Personally, it was simply fun.

Spring Springing Quickly

Spring is officially about a week away, but I'm glad to say that signs of the changing season are plentiful. A month ago today I was fishing atop the Indiana ice and getting ready to travel to Michigan, just in time to welcome a big lake-effect snow. My family raced the biggest southern storm of the winter home from that trip and soon had our coldest temperatures of this year. The snow that fell has only been gone a couple of weeks, but forecast is full of 60s, and I can count half a dozen kinds of flowers blooming in my yard.

It's not just here either. Posts I'm seeing on Instagram, facebook and Twitter scream spring. Big bass freshly caught, flowers blooming, people playing in short sleeves, families getting out... Even way to the north, where friends are still ice-fishing, the pictures suggest late ice, strangely moderate conditions and change trying to happen.

My upcoming trips, although all to different places, are definitely springish by design, and on my most recent trout outing with Asher, we shed coats in the afternoon.

I'm not saying the cold has fled us for the year. Some of our most winterish weather often comes very late some years. The trend is toward spring, though, and that's good news, as far as I'm concerned.

Winter Coat Time?

A part of me doesn't like the notion of letting a beard grow at this particular time. The very fact that "No-Shave November" has become a popular thing makes me want to stay clean shaven for at least four more weeks. That said, the snow that capped Appalachian peaks this weekend and the cold morning temperatures have me feeling like it's about time to start putting on the winter coat. I also leave for a week-long trip this afternoon, and not shaving is undoubtedly handier than shaving when I'm on the road.

So what does this have to do with fishing. Not a thing. I'm pretty sure the fish don't care. Of course, I do think my cold-season pictures have more of a wintery look with the Viking beard on my face.

Southern Appalachian Snow?

Word is that we have a 30-percent chance of some snow falling overnight in North Georgia and the just uphill of here, in the North Carolina and Tennessee mountains, a foot of snow could fall between now and tomorrow morning. I was just up that way two days ago, fishing with no coat on and with vibrant autumn colors in the background!

It's hard to say what will really materialize, and I don't know if snow on the eve of November says anything at all about what's ahead, winter-wise. I just know it's awfully early for snow to even be in the weatherman's conversations in this part of the world.

Of course, I also noticed a while ago on the national map that the temperature at the time in North Dakota was 14 degrees, and I recall Deadwood, South Dakota getting significant snow a few weeks ago. Given those realities, the idea of overnight lows around freezing and a bit of snow that wouldn't even last doesn't sound so bad.

All Dressed Up & No Place to Go

Photo by Nathaniel Samsel

I guess it was a foolish notion, but when I finished a project with only a bit of afternoon remaining, Nathaniel and I started looking at the snow and thinking how pretty the pond would be. If we could get even a fish or two to take a vertical presentation during the final hour of daylight, it would be well worth the quick trip. In fact, it would be fun and the photos would be nice even if the fish wouldn't bite.

So Nathaniel gathered junk while I wrapped up work stuff and turned on the truck so it could begin to warm, and then we began piling on layers. My outer layer was waterproof so the snow wouldn't get me wet, and I had GoPros and my waterproof point-and-shoot in my pocket, gloves on my hands and a beanie on my head. All seemed perfect.

Perfect, that is, until I tried to back out and made my tires spin a faster than the truck was going backward. Turned out there was more ice under the snow than I expected. I'm pretty sure I could have gotten out, had I persisted, but I decided pretty quickly that if I was sliding that much in front of the house I probably shouldn't test four miles of road to go somewhere I didn't really need to go. Not even to go fishing.

Given reports I've heard from all over the South, I sort of think it was the right call. That was yesterday afternoon. This morning I resolved to just stay home and write fish stories today. Roads will thaw eventually, and there's nowhere I really need to go.

3?

You know how everyone sees a need for a new prison or landfill -- but always somewhere else? I'm that way with weather, and I'll be the first to admit it. I like to see really low lows in other places, especially those places where I might be ice-fishing later in the season, but I'm not so crazy about really cold forecasts for North Georgia.

I don't mind a bit of cold. I like a distinctive change of seasons and even find romance in occasional snow falling. That said, a low of 3 and high of 25, 50 percent chance of snow, and 19 mph NNW winds sound more than a little cold to me, and that's exactly what our forecast is for Monday. Sounds like a really good day to stay inside and write about warm-season fishing!

Crappie on Ice & a Cold Classic Start

We won't quite need augers to fish for crappie tomorrow, but the banks of Oklahoma's Lake Eufaula might be snowy, and the foul-weather gear might play an important part for warding off an icy rain. That's OK. I'm glad to have my long drive to Fort Smith behind me, with no problems caused by the fairly heavy snow I drove through for the last couple of hours.

Of course, from the photos I've seen that pros have posted, the snow I drove in was light compared to what the 53 Bassmaster Classic contenders fished in during today's final practice day. Looks like it snowed pretty much the whole time. Given the snow that fell today, the wintery mix that continues to fall and a forecast low in the low 20s on Friday morning (when the competition starts), it would seem the fish might be in true winter mode to start the tournament. However, by Sunday afternoon, the temperature is supposed to climb into the 60s, so I'm really curious how the fishing will change over the course of the tournament.

That's getting ahead of things, though. The cold crappie come first!