Give a man a rod…edit 1.0

[Achebe]

It's cooler now, beside the stream; my floating line lies traceless. ...Reads better with a full stop after "now" and then a comma after "stream", at least to my ear.
A mist  crawls down, spring-born in woody fell, spilling like milk.
The light, white breath of dying day shifts and shimmies ...I think you need enjambment in L2 to avoid the monotony of 3 straight, long sentences. This line in particular, has a problem with double adjectives
surface sprites above the drift; rising and falling, rising and falling. ...
You get to thinking: it's no good crying...never was. ...I don't know how ellipses help in a poem. There are so many other ways to indicate a pause - line breaks, spacing, etc. To me, ellipses indicate that words have been left out.
Another cast or two before the sun gives up its ghosts ...why the plural? either sun gives up its ghost and dies, or the wood gives up its ghosts and they swarm out
then I will fish no more today. My net hangs empty in the shallows. ...From this point on, I must say the poem gets interesting
What is fishing without fish? A moment now and then of joy ...The question is asked, but no answer attempted. RAther than confuse the reader, you might consider replacing the question with a statement such as "fishing without fish:" or "I fish without fish."
-- anticipation isn’t what it used to be-- but I need the hook
to pull me, tempt me, keep me to the task...or I am alone. ...wonderful line. ditch the ellipsis please.
I see the line twitch but hear nothing. The mist mutes all. ...wonderful
Some days you just have to believe. A tugging from a distant fish ...again wonderful
is like a message from you. Familiar feelings flood over me
whenever my rod tip bends and dips…or when a letter arrives.
Fish and letters; it’s been a while. Sometimes I think
there’s no fish here at all…but I'll be back tomorrow.  

tectak beside an Esk pool 2016

The poem sounds like the transcript of a conversation that you're having in your head while fishing. And one of those rare poems where the second half is infinitely superior to the first. Thanks for the read