An area that I spent a lot of time in over Thanksgiving Break was the Marble Works District of downtown Middlebury. I love this location because of its natural beauty and close proximity to downtown Middlebury. I have seen this spot in almost all of the seasons, this transition to winter is one of the most beautiful. The spray and mist from the falls coats the rocks and trees with a shiny layer of ice. The water is much higher in the winter, spots where I stood and fished in the summer are in some places under a foot of cold, clear water. Water clarity is much better in the winter. Fish activity is low in the winter. On a summers’ night you can hear the splash and pop of smallmouth bass feeding on any insects unlucky enough to land in the water. The winter has driven most fish to deeper water to conserve energy. The lack of coniferous trees in this area makes for winters with little color in the forest. There are many more coniferous trees at my Centennial Woods location. It is a more wooded area and much farther away from human activity. I think that the phenological changes at the Otter Creek location are much more evident than those at Centennial Woods, but they are in a way more observable at Centennial Woods because of the smaller scale.
