It's often said that days of cold, wet, and clouds can turn into some of the best fishing days. I always tell myself this before I leave the house on what I know is going to be a foreboding day.

"It's okay that you won't be able to feel your fingers, the fishing is going to be great!"

Let's just say this isn't always the case.

I was recently listening to an NPR interview about the new Blue Note box set, entitled Peace, Love, and Fishing. It's a collection of jazz music, sent to you twice a year, full of wonderful musicians and easy listening.

(No, this isn't an infomercial, I'll get to my point.)

The question inevitably came up, what does fishing have to do with jazz music?

Here's how fishing is like jazz, or more importantly life. You throw your fly out into deep, dark waters and sometimes you don't get anything, nothing but a wet fly and maybe an ugly soaked stick. But, sometimes you come back with a beautiful trout!

That's why we do it, not for the soggy stick, or the tangles, or the flies forgotten in trees, but for that beautiful trout.

Yesterday the dark waters won, many sticks were snagged, only a few fish landed.

Today the sun is out and it's about 15 degrees warmer, today would be a great day to go fishing, far less miserable. Instead, I'll sit here and do my work, listening to some smooth jazz, and remembering the beautiful trout (though few) of yesterday.