Week of February 1, 2026: Tundra 2026

The midpoint of winter is on Tuesday of this week - another cross-quarter day. Good news if you’re getting a little tired of cold and snow; less so if you love this weather. Either way, I agree with Henry David Thoreau’s sentiment, shared with me earlier this year, from a journal entry written December, 1856: “Take long walks in stormy weather or through deep snows in the fields and woods, if you would keep your spirits up. Deal with brute nature. Be cold and hungry and weary.” I imagined what folks back then wore while tromping through drifts and breaking trails. Humanity’s ability to adapt to some harsh conditions, hot or cold, is nothing short of awesome.  

I searched up Thoreau’s journal to learn about the context of this entry. He describes, basically, going for a walk on Christmas Day - checking on neighbors and looking at the shapes formed by wind and drifting snow “behind the walls. As usual they resemble shells more than anything, sometimes prows of vessels, also the folds of a white napkin or counterpane dropped over a bonneted head. There are no such picturesque snow-drifts as are formed behind loose and open stone walls. “ He meets a dog and looks at tracks. The point of the sojourn is to “keep your spirits up.” If you choose to follow this advice - dress warmly!  But I tend to agree, there is something exhilarating in a winter walk - even without a rod.

And that is pretty much the fishing report for last week. There is a lot of ice and open water may be few and far between. Best days in the coming week may be Tuesday or Wednesday, when the temperature gets above thirty-two. The mid-winter selection includes midges, scuds, small nymphs - and Little Black Stone flies - LBS. Start looking for these this month, in a week or so, after the cross-quarter day on Tuesday. Stop by the shop for Jeff D.’s Early Black Stone Fly or for the materials to make your own winter flies. Never tied before? There are seats available for the Fly Tying 101 classes on Saturday mornings.

I found another remark from Thoreau on anglers in general and I wonder who agrees: “He is the most patient and believing of men. Who else will stand so long in wet places? [...] He is more like an inhabitant of nature.  He is an observer of her phenomena.” The world spins on and part of me can’t believe this year is a month old. Watch out for ice and check on your neighbors. The appearance of the LBSs is a sign of the resurgence of life in the rivers.

See you out there,

Roy B.