I was more than comfy cozy, all curled up with my favorite
4-legged buddies, dreaming of unicorns and large pots of gold when I heard the obnoxious
beeping of the alarm clock. I hit snooze
once, twice, three times: It was 4:45am
and the weather app on my phone said it was 28 degrees. A four letter word my Mother
taught me not to use slipped off my tongue.
I contemplate cancelling. My alarm beeps a fourth time and with an
overly dramatic sigh, I climb out of bed.
I scold myself for not setting the coffee pot timer and pray the coffee
brews faster today.
As the coffee percolates, I slowly put on one layer, then a
second. I add a third layer because I
know I can get cold in the middle of a heat wave. For good measure, I pack a fourth
layer in my pack. My coffee is ready and
I immediately feel like life is being pumped back into me. Thank you Coffee
Gods, thank you.
Layered and caffeinated up, I was ready to go fishing!
The closer I got to the river, the more anxious I got. I was
fishing with a guy that knew what he was doing; I barely just figured out how
to set up a proper nymph rig! The high for the day was expected to be 31
degrees, and I’m known to be a big baby when it comes to the cold. It would be
an adventure.
We hoofed it quite a ways down the river and I tried my best
to be a tough girl and not complain about the cold. Rigged up with a San Juan worm and an egg, I was
ready to go! I wanted a fish! Right now!!!
And fish I got!!! I
started the day out with my first kokanee!
I would have had 3-4 if I could set my hook quicker, or as my friend teased,
“stop setting like a girl.” I foul hooked a sucker fish in the belly, and
felt terrible because I was so worried I might have hurt him. Again, my friend kindly pointed out I was
being a “weenie”. It was trout after
trout after trout! Between the two of
us, we easily had 20 trout that day. The
biggest (caught by me) was a healthy fat 21inch rainbow hen and the smallest
(caught by the ‘pro’) was a 3” brown! I
LOVE the feel of the weight on the line, even if I say “it’s heavy” and giggle
like a school girl… nothing beats it!
As I crawled back into my bed that evening, exhausted,
haggard, and with smiles for miles; I couldn’t stop looking at my new “fish porn”. Its funny how I gripe about getting up at 7am
to go to work, but I’m anxiously awaiting my next 4:45am ‘fish alarm’.
That day on the river, I felt as though I was finally
getting “it”. I know I still have plenty
of lessons ahead of me and techniques to practice, figure out, and new ones to
learn. But that was my day. It wasn’t even
until I got back to the car that I realized I was shivering from the cold and
my hands were chapped and frozen! But, at least for one day, it all came
together and reminded me, yet again, why I fly fish!
Tight Lines!
