It's looking like a Saw-wee-kee Park sunset fish, unless there's lightning.

River's up a little, the fish ain't biting, but I got some time.

The south shore is easily wade-able and has plenty of structure.

Even if they aren't feeding, they have to be there.

Where else they going to go?

Well now, that sucked.

I don't have the time I used to have to get out fishing, so I have to squeeze in an hour or two when I have the chance. Maybe do a longer stretch on the occasional weekend. Since I have to drive over and along the Fox and some of its creeks on my way home from work everyday, stopping is relatively easy.

Wanting to is another issue.

My wanting to stop and fish the Fox is more like a habit. Something you do because you almost have no choice. Kind of like grabbing a magazine while heading for the bathroom. Or lighting a cigarette while waiting for a bus or having that first cup of coffee in the morning. It's more like muscle memory than actual desire or need.

Luckily I don't feel that way about the creeks yet.

Saw-wee-kee Park on the far end of Oswego is on my way home, so I thought I may as well give it a try.

I had checked the radar before heading home and I thought there would be small cells of storms rolling through. Rain for a few minutes and then clear up before the next cell blew through. Apparently the cells decided to merge. When I got to the park, I sat out a thunderstorm and headed out when the lightning appeared to all head north. It never really stopped raining, just lightened up a bit. That's no big deal, rain is easy enough to handle.

Even though the river was flowing at just over 2000 cubic feet per second, this stretch is normally so shallow that wading along here was easy. My first 50 yards of casting along the shore produced two strong hits and pulls on the line. An encouraging sign. Then the rain started coming down in buckets. Which effectively shut down any further bites.

While walking and casting the lightning was flashing to the north. Since that was the direction the storm was moving I wasn't too concerned. Probably stupidity on my part. I assumed that lightning wouldn't think that . . . oops, I better head back south, missed some idiot standing in the river with a graphite lightning rod.

It was when the sky through the trees to the south of me turned black and was being streaked by lightning that I thought getting out of the water might be a good idea. I hear getting hit by lightning stings like a son of a bitch. Didn't care to learn that first hand.

What I did learn in that little jaunt along the shore was that the caddis are hatching and the carp are feeding on the surface in all of the slack water areas.

I think it's time to check my fly box for caddis imitations and start carrying my fly rod in the car. I keep talking about doing more surface sight fishing for carp, but I've only done it once. An absolute blast on a fly rod.

All this rain has totally screwed up everything. Not so much the water levels as the water clarity. Even though it is a little high again and not conducive to going anyhwhere on the river.

Best I can hope for is that the creeks clear up by Saturday, my next opportunity to get out. I don't mind that they come up, I mind that they turn to mud.

Now it's a matter of where to go. I explored a new stretch of Little Rock Creek over the past weekend with my daughter. Opens up about two miles to exploring.

Maybe I can cover a mile of it on Saturday.

We shall see.