Gone Fishing

Those of you who know me well, know that I love fishing; especially river fishing.   So as my first official act of retirement...I went fishing.  I can't remember the last time I had 5 days off in a row, not to mention being able to fish for 5 days in a row, so this was kind of a major event for me.  And since Brenda wasn't around, I could eat bacon for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  (If you read this Brenda, I only had bacon for breakfast and lunch...we had salmon for dinner....with a side of bacon).

Its not really even the act of fishing that I love.  Its the whole process.  I enjoy the anticipation of going, the shopping for snacks to throw in the boat, even stopping by the fishing store to see what bait and lures are working.  Once we are on the river is when things get even more enjoyable.  The sound of the water under the boat, reading the water, deciding what path to take, and rowing like crazy in big water.  It doesn't matter to me if its raining, snowing, or sunny.  Its all great.  And, it usually means I get to hang out with some good friends.


 I can always count on my good friend Brad to drop everything and go fishing.  He may love fishing more than anything on earth, which makes him a great person to have around when you need a partner in crime to spend a few days on the river chasing salmon and steelhead. So, we loaded up our campers and the drift boat and off we went to the mighty Cowlitz river in search of big fish. 


Brad with a whopper...it put up a good fight!

The thing about fishing with Brad is that he likes to fish hard.  He gets on the river early and stays late.  Its pretty common to be on the river from sun up to sun down and you better bring a headlamp because its pretty likely that you are going to need it.




I'm on a boat!
Our good friend Lief was able to join us for one day.  It was great to have him along as well.  He has been one of my best friends since we were kids and we have worked together for almost 20 years so it was great to spend a little time with him outside of work before Brenda and I take off on our sailing trip.



 


The nice thing about drifting the river is that we are in pretty remote areas which means that  you generally have no cell phone coverage.  Its a great thing.  Peace and quiet.  A little bit of mother nature goes a long way for the soul.  We also get to see some amazing scenery and wildlife that most people never get to experience.  Its not really that important if we even catch anything.  Its just good to get out.




But if you're lucky...you get a fish.



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