Fishing regulations, like any rules or regulations, are not easy to love. Some time ago, as fishing law books got thicker and the water-by-water rules got increasingly complex with multiple S-codes and exceptions to the General Law, a cynic made the observation that a serious law-abiding angler needed two companions with him on the water: a Sherpa to carry the law book and a lawyer to interpret the regulations and S-code for each body of water.

Like the rest of you, I'm not allowed to spend much time visiting others nowadays. Social-distancing rules say that I'm supposed to stay six feet away from everybody else, and as this pandemic gathers steam, I've even found myself guiltily holding my breath when I've passed someone in the aisles of my local grocery store. For a guy who makes his living meeting up with total strangers, listening to their stories, and sharing those tales with thousands of BDN readers, this has been an odd time, to be sure.

Anglers who head out to fish Maine's ponds, lakes and brooks early in the open-water season have learned that for several weeks, the fishing can be quite slow. The cold water has left the fish sluggish, it seems, and it might take just the right fly or bait to garner any interest from a passing fish.