apoapsis

All the romance of trout fishing exists in the mind of the angler
and is in no way shared by the fish.
 ~Harold F. Blaisdell, The Philosophical Fisherman, 1969

in minnesota, we have four seasons.  spring, summer, autumn, and of course, winter (everyone's secret favorite, or they wouldn't live here, right?).  astronomical seasons are determined by the earth's position relative to the sun, while the "summer" of the northern-hemisphere is marked by the earth's intersection with the apoapsis, or the point at which our planet is furthest from the sun during our annual elliptical orbit.  Even though our eclipsing of this particular apsis means our planet is the furthest that it will be from the sun, the earth's topside tilt towards our solar system's gravitational center generates the conditions necessary for the warmest months in the midwest.

by all measurements we're having a very warm summer in Minnesota this year.  as our earth leans into the sun, and the atmospheric pressure systems ebb and flow, the heat waves blanket the midwest.  accompanying these days of increased heat inevitably comes the rising of temperatures of our lakes and streams.  for cold-blooded trout, this means they must seek cooler water, or minimally hide/rest during the hotter portions of the day so as to help regulate their own internal body temperatures from becoming too warm.

as joe, khang, and i headed to south-eastern minnesota for a couple days of trout fishing, we knew our work was cut out for us as the forecast was predicting slightly above average temperatures; which for this time of year translates into -- hot.

we planned on camping at whitewater state park, while spreading our time amongst three streams: the north and south branches of the whitewater river, and trout run which is about 20 minutes south of where we would otherwise be roaming.

our time was enjoyable as always, but certainly a mixed bag with regard to how well we did synchronizing with the trout.  we began our trip on trout run and had reasonable success before returning to camp for the night.  prior to climbing into our respective tents, we displayed some of our so-called "boy scout" skills and enjoyed an impromptu fire made from a fire starter that I had in my bag, and dead wood laying around our campsite.

we woke up to sunshine and the makings of another very warm day.  even at 9am in the morning, it was warm and we sought shade to compensate.  we began on the north branch of whitewater and had a modicum of success, but decided to pick up around lunch and hit the south branch to finish out our day.  the south branch trout proved our biggest challenge.  joe and khang caught a couple between them for the afternoon, and i managed to catch a little more than a handful, but this was clearly dumb luck for me i felt.

this trip was a reminder of the upcoming juncture with our planet's orbital apoapsis.  the mild, gentle, and comfortable weather of spring was giving way to meteorological summer.  our willingness to come out in the heat was a sign of our own unwillingness to let go of spring, and an anticipation for another day on the stream, but it was clear the trout did not share the same romance for the engagement as we did.