Longer Days, Promise of Spring

I drove home into the sun today. First time I've done that in I don't know how long. It means:

• I left work much earlier than normal.
• The sun is setting later than normal.
• And there were fewer (many fewer) clouds than normal.

These are all important, but it is the middle one that offers the most hope to the iced up steelheader. As the days get longer they also get warmer -- if only slightly. These first longer days offer a hint of spring to come. Aldo Leopold saw spring in a skein of geese, cleaving the murk of March thaw. I'm even more of an optimist. I see spring on January days where the temperature never threatens to hit 30. I see it in the sun that sets after I arrive home, not before I leave work.

Spring, like the geese, has not arrived yet, but its promise is there hanging in the western sky. I will hold that promise until the ice melts and I can again pursue the steel. In the meantime, I'll take a break to the land of eternal spring. More on that soon.

Season Ending

Today marks the first day of the first week that I won't be chasing steelhead for the first time since September -- maybe. There is a slim chance next Saturday may offer an opportunity to try the Grand River in Lake County, Ohio, one last time, but I'm not counting on it.

That means, more than likely, my last spring 2008 spring steelhead was a 28-inch female caught in the East Branch of the Rocky River on Tuesday, May 13. She took a pink and red egg fly that was drifted through the inside edge of a fast run. She put up a short, but spirited fight. She appeared tired from spawning, and I was a bit tired from the 9-month steelhead marathon.

I don't like to admit it, but I can get tired of pursuing steelhead trout. How can that be possible --just look at those beautiful fish and smiles above. It isn't that I get tired of fishing, but I do get tired of finding the time to fish. If I could fish 365 days of the year, I would. I'm sure I'd tire of it, but I'd like that opportunity. I cannot fish that often -- family and work and other priorities get in the way. And after awhile, I get tired of having to balance those priorities with fishing. Fishing is for me. Those other priorities are for others, and we are all called to serve others. And I can only be so selfish with my time to fish. So while I'd love to fish every day, it can get tiring finding the time to do so. Explaining why I cannot attend a breakfast meeting -- I need to get my steelhead fix in before work -- can get old. I find myself apologizing for my addiction. I prefer being an addict in private.

I love to fish, but I know it cannot be the only thing that I do. In the weeks ahead, I hope to use this site to share my ideas on why I love to fish, how I fish and where I fish. September will be here fast, and by then I hope to be ready for another marathon.