An homage to springtime: When renewal abounds, and opportunities await

“Spring is in the air” is more than a seasonal expression. It is literally the aerial observation of nature’s new beginnings. Look up! You just might see an evening performance of courting woodcock, or “dancers in the sunset sky,” as famed conservationist Aldo Leopold so aptly observed. The unmistakable clamour of returning geese, cranes and other wild wings also lifts our chins—and our springtime spirits.

Perhaps nowhere else, though, do the sounds of spring fill the air more than on a trout stream, with the tune of clean, cold water weaving through stick jams, gurgling into pools and sluicing through undercuts. And on the bank, another perfect note blends in with the creek’s sweet harmony—the whispers of my son and I bonding over a game plan to catch the attention of wary brook trout.

By May, fishing boats break out of hibernation and roar back to life, ready for the inaugural open-water perch, pike and walleye fishing of the year. But first, there is great spring hunting to be enjoyed. Backed against an old oak tree with a shotgun pressed to my shoulder, I am the hen camouflaged behind decoys, seducing a long beard with my calls as he struts his best spur forward into a courtship trap. And when his gobble jump-starts the still morning tempo, my heart rate picks up the beat.

Then there’s spring treestand time, hunting black bears against the backdrop of trilliums, apple tree blossoms and wild leeks. With spring peepers singing at full volume as bears silently approach the bait barrel, this is a hunt that makes my season complete; I’m thankful for the gutsy voices of conservation reason that have kept it alive. Spring is in the air states the obvious—something exciting always lies in wait for those who hunt and fish during nature’s great renewal show.