Setting a date to fish the Sandhills in the spring is a little like playing Russian roulette. The weather changes quicker than the outfits on a hostess at the Academy Awards. It's not uncommon to experience snow, sleet, rain and sun, all before noon. But one weather feature that you can always count on is the wind. The annual clash between winter and summer starts in March, peaks in April, and doesn't subside until the first of June. These shifting gales just happen to coincide with the popular spring fishing season.

It's always a challenge for me as a fishing guide to match the level of excitement that my clients enjoy as we approach a wind-swept lake. On the worst days, wind whips the tips of whitecaps into a vapor that streams across the meadow and swirls away into the distant hills. I hide clinched teeth behind a grin as I struggle to balance my body against the wind to pull on my chest waders. The neoprene waders serve dual purposes on days like these. They repel the waves that crash over the transom and slam me as I run the electric motor. When the wind is such that I can no longer control the boat, then I simply jump overboard and pull it and my lure casting fishermen along the leeward side of the lake.

"This is great fishing!" exclaims a chipper angler as he leans into another hard fighting northern pike.

"Yeah, the wind seems to be really turning 'em on," replies his buddy. "This is a great day!"

"These are hard times," I mumble under my breath as the boat strains to break free of my aching arms.