It all started earlier this year. After a normal winter, weather-wise, we got hit with an actual blizzard in February. Remember our part of the world that seldom sees such conditions being bombarded with snow and ice and a virtual shut down for a week?
Now here it is with Christmas in our rear-view mirror and, I kid you not, we ran air conditioning at our house Christmas day. Did these unusual events catch us by surprise? Maybe but perhaps we could have saved ourselves time and frustration by devoting more attention to a list of ancient weather indicators I found.
Here are some of what the old timey prognosticators came up with.
1. If the sun sets behind a bank of clouds on Thursday, it will rain before Sunday.
2. Lightening in the south means dry weather.
3. A red sunset means clearing weather; a yellow sunset indicates rain.
4. When a chicken’s tail feathers spread on in the wind, rain is on the way.
5. If it thunders in the morning before 7:00, it’ll rain before 11:00; rain before 7:00, clear by 11:00.
6. Heavy fur on a squirrel means a hard winter ahead; thin fur foretells a mild winter.
7. Three months after you hear the first katydid, there’ll be a killing front.
8. For every fog in August, there will be a snow in winter.
9. If it frosts before November 23, it will be a bad winter.
10. The hotter the summer, the colder the following winter.
11. If smoke settles toward the ground, bad weather is on the way. If it rises, look for clearing skies.
12. A tilted moon with the points facing downward smacks of rain.
13. Rain is also indicated when leaves show their backs, when a herd of cows lie down, when birds fly low, and when earthworms come to the top of the ground.
14. When there is a ring around the moon, it is bound to rain, and if you count the visible stars within that ring, you can tell how many days before it rains.
15. If it rains on Easter, look for rain the next seven Sundays.
16. If it rains on the full of the moon, you can expect rainy weather until the moon quarters.
17. When you hear a screech owl, you can bet fair weather in on the way.
18. The twelve days after Christmas indicate what each month of the year will be like.
19. If it thunders in February, it will frost on that day in April.
20. When you see the first purple martin, the crappie will be starting to spawn.
21. When the pine pollen covers everything, bass are spawning in the shallows.
22. Crimson clover in full bloom means blue gills are bedded and will bite.
I have not put all these old predictions to the test but I grew up believing some of them because my mama believed them and if mama said so, you could take as the Gospel. For example, mama firmly believed in the “thunder in February; frost in April” (number 19 above) theory and this has proven to be true more times than not. The same has proven to be dead on for number 5 above “thunder before 7:00; rain before 11:00.
The sun is shining as I write this but I saw a herd of cows lying down in the pasture across the road. What does the weatherman predict for the week? Rain on Wednesday.
I’m keeping my slicker suit handy, just in case.
FISHING REPORT
CANEY LAKE –Crappie are fair fishing the deep water out from the dam on shiners and jigs. Jigging spoons bounced off the bottom in deep water are fair for yellow bass. Bass are better on the deeper points on jigs and soft plastics. No report on catfish. For information contact Hooks Marina at 249-2347, Terzia Tackle at 278-4498 or the Honey Hole Tackle Shop at 323-8707.
BLACK BAYOU – Fishing is slow. A few bream are being caught on worms fairly deep. Bass are best around the pads and grass. No report on crappie. Contact Honey Hole Tackle Shop 323- 8707 for latest info.
OUACHITA RIVER – Bass are slot to fair fishing the mouths of the river lakes on shad imitation lures. Crappie have been best fishing around sunken brush and stumps in the river fishing 10-12 feet deep in 20 foot water. For latest information, contact the Honey Hole Tackle Shop at 323-8707.
LAKE D’ARBONNE – Crappie fishing has been best in the channel fishing 18 feet deep in 20-25 foot water. Jigs and shiners are producing fair catches. Bass are in the deeper holes in the channel and have been fair on soft plastics and jigs. Bream fishing is slow while catfish are biting cold worms fished off the banks.. For latest reports, call Anderson’s Sport Center at 368-9669 or Honey Hole Tackle Shop at 323-8707.
LAKE CLAIBORNE – Crappie fishing has been best at night fishing shiners around the lighted docks with some also caught during the day around submerged brush in 15 foot water. Jigs and shiners a picking up a few. A few stripers have been caught fishing jigs. No report this week on bass, bream or catfish. For latest information, call Misty at Kel’s Cove at 331-2730 or Terzia Tackle at 278-4498.
LAKE POVERTY POINT – Crappie fishing has been off and on with a few caught around the boat slips on shiners or jigs. Catfishing has been good with mostly smaller fish being caught. No report on bass. For latest reports, call Poverty Point Marina at 318/878-0101.
LAKE ST. JOHN – The water is low; launching boats is a near impossibility. No fishing this week. For information, call Ken Mahoney at 318-201-3821.
LAKE YUCATAN – The water is slowly falling. Several fair to good reports have come in on fishermen catching crappie and catfish. For information, call Surplus City Landing at 318/467-2259.
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