Sunny days are a rare and precious commodity here in the PNW. When one rolls around, especially some of the first of the year, you better get out there and take advantage of it. So when Justin invited me to join him for a day of trout fishing, I simply couldn’t resist. We were joined by friend and loyal customer Harry. None of us had fished the river we chose before, but Justin wanted to scout it out for a class he is teaching in the coming months.
After days and weeks of cloudy, rainy weather the sunshine felt good. DAMN GOOD. And standing in a river chasing trout (not “unicorns”) also felt damn good. Coming from the Holy Land of trout fishing, my hopes weren’t too high for the day, but I was actually pleasantly surprised by the little river we visited. It had all the characteristics of a genuine trout stream. And there is just nothing like the sound of a moving, rushing river.
Fishing with Harry was pretty interesting. I have always enjoyed those few older fly fishers who are full of stories and are a pleasure to be around. Harry certainly fits that bill. I enjoyed bullshitting with him as much as I did fishing.
In places, the brush and trees on the banks grew close. Snags happened, as they always do. Flies were lost, leaders were mangled, and fingers were raised at the tree gods.
Eventually, as the day wore on, lunch hit home, and no fish were to be had, the warm sunshine reduced us all to feeling a little lazy.
All in all, it was a fine day on the river. Although it did make me damn homesick for Montana. I foresee a trip home in my near future…
