Fall comes too quickly some years... And then there are times when you wish it was fall all year long. The water conditions are so great in October. And the autumnal colors are fantastic. And the fish are hungry. It's just a great combination.
Of course, The guy in the shop told me flat-out to come back when it was raining. He said the water level was a mere 520 cfs and 80% of the Steelhead were sitting down in the Columbia River waiting. Rain and rain alone would bring them upriver. I used my zen-like powers to pretend I didn't mind. I went fishing for four hours and then spent the rest of the weekend sight-seeing with my wife. And I actually had a pleasant time.
It was my last fling before winter. I usually take November through February off and it was a melancholy goodbye to a year I'd spent entirely in my home state for the first time in probably fifteen years. When I stopped and thought about it, I couldn't believe it.
The older I get, the more great fishing I find here at home and the less reason I have to drive eight to ten hours to anywhere else.
Here's to a quiet winter spent tying and restocking fly boxes. And dreaming of spring...
