The winter was cold.  The trees were bare and the occasional snowfall, often substantial or nothing, made the river run high on warmer days and frigid on the colder rones.  Compared to other times of year its tough, but, if you gotta be anything, you might as well be that.  The cold makes you question why you do it but the answer is always trout and that seems substantial enough if not downright satisfying.
Those days on the water are like a religious conversion; all hope and fantasy, with a little bit of fact mixed in to settle the grounds.  People can get serious if not downright grouchy on days like that and thats why you do it.  It affirms your purity, if positiveity is  purity, which you think it is at least in part, if not mostly.  After all, if life gives you lemons ansd you make lemonade, at least you  have something to drink which, I guess, proves my point.
From the serious anglers perspective, water is meant for fishing, no matter the time of year and there is a certain sense of pride knowing you are on your river all year long.
On this particular day the water is edged in ice along the slower spots and the water takees on an inky appearance like chocolate milk is thick, only darker.  The  fish are known to hold in slower water in the winter and you have taken several trips out without any luck,  but are pleasantly surprised to take a fish from a bathtub-sized boil created where the slower side currents deflect off some logs and juts out into the current.
It's the first one you've landed in weeks, though you have hooked a couple without bringing them to hand.  It hardly fought instead choosing to turn belly up un the current as you drug it in.
You wonder about fish and this experience leads to meaderings about fishing choosing or going on instict or maybe, in this cold water, just doing the easiest thung.  You hope nature does more than the easiest think though whether it's choosing or isntinct is up for grabs.  You think probably instinct, but there is a little question mark at the end that leaves it open for discussion.
All winter long you've been out here casting with hope to the likely spots.  You've focused on that beautiful slower water that seems to scream fish, but are surprised to take most of your fish from shallower riffles at the heads of pools.  On warmer days when the air is wet and cloud cover enough, you have taken several fish from spots that previouslly seemed to be barren.  Those few good days prove the exception to the rule but you keep fishing the sme spots on other days because they've been a good of place as any.  Sometimes habit seeps in, especially with success, and thats when nature changes the rules doing the thing you least expect and denying you fish.
As cold as its been it's still pleasantly satisfying to catch fish though with frozen toes it's hard to be excited.  The water is, afterall, in the low thirties and even on the warmer days it probably hasn't broken the forty degree mark.  You are somewhat suprised to catch fish after the ebarren winter but, whatever, if it was all set up and you knew what would happen, you would probably never leave your house in the first place.
Overall, the winter was good and your waiting for the spring and that inevitable caddis hatch that brought the fish up last year.  You hope to catch fish and often do and that seems satisfying enough even if your toes do get a little cold.  But it's winter afterall and wouldn't be cold without it.