This morning, when I went to breakfast (eggs benedict, home fries and coffee at the Daily Grind in Adams), it was a bit foggy and a rather nippy 35 degrees out.
Fortunately, by the time I went fishing on the South Hoosic from 10:15 to 11:30 AM, the sky had partially cleared and the air had warmed to a positively balmy 43 degrees.
Nevertheless, it was a chilly day to go wet wading (swim trunks and crocks) as I did, and the stream was up a little more than I expected too.
(My chest waders have holes in the soles, which I haven't been able to successfully patch so far, and I'm too cheap/lazy to travel all the way to Pittsfield to buy a new pair this late in the season).
After fishing Cheshire Harbor without any results, I drove to Adams and prospected the upper end of my milk run, from Mullen Mayflower down to just past the footbridge below the Burnett Bednarz Bridge.
After striking out at my first two go-to spots, I finally struck gold just above the footbridge, tying into a nice 13" brown, which was on the skinny side but fought well.
By this point, my feet were pretty numb, so I trudged back to my car and headed home to change for my shift at the pierogi bee for the bazaar at my kids' alma mater.
Tomorrow, a friend and I are going to give the Main Branch of the Hoosic a whirl - - I think I'll borrow my younger son's hip boots when we do.
