With temperatures in the single digits and sixteen inches of snow blanketing the world outside, my thoughts turn to spring.

In my mind, I’m wandering alongside a stream, looking for telltale signs of a rising trout, or at least a place one might be hiding.

Here are a few places I’m drawing inspiration as I sit down to tie some patterns:

• Mark Sturtevant’s recent YouTube videos on tying the Quill Gordon, CDC emergers, and his 100 Year Drake. Mark blogs regularly over at https://brightwatercatskill.art.blog/.
• Ed Ostapczuk’s Ramblings of a Charmed Circle Flyfisher.
• Ed Van Put’s posthumously published revelations. He was a devotee of the Adams.
• Nick Parish’s essays over at Current Flow State.
• A recent Tenkara Angler podcast on the crew’s confidence kebari. I exclusively fished with my tenkara rods last year, finding them an great fit for the small streams I like to fish.
• Fran Betters’ Fly Fishing, Fly Tying, and Pattern Guide. I was lucky enough to find a low priced copy at my local used book store last year. The Haystack and Usual were my top patterns last year.
• Dave Hughes’ Reading Trout Water. I’m re-reading it.
• Joseph Rickett’s underwater videos with brook trout.

I may still get out and wet my line this winter, weather permitting. We have a long weekend trip planned to the central Catskills next month, and I’ll probably have my rod in-hand and try to entice a few brook trout as I hike along some small mountain streams.

For now, I sit under a blanket, blog, read, and dream.