Fall is Coming

With the rod set up, I tried on a size 8 stimulator, then secured 14 inches of tippet to the bend of the hook. On that mono I tied a brown size 12 bead head nymph. The water was clear and cold; a great fall day.  I had hoped that the rains from the previous night hadn’t put the fish down.

Walking out into the current, I crept out to about knee deep. My feet were chilled by the rushing water. Upstream was a nice riffle; a gravel bar created a smooth pour-over dropping the water into a chute that looked to be about 5 feet deep.  I started casting low in the run and let the flies drift along the crease between the slack water of shore and the swifter current of the main trough. 

Several casts produced nothing and with each cast I would step higher into the current. The water looked fantastic but there were no fish rising anywhere along this stretch.  Again and again I tossed the bugs forward and concentrated as they drifted back my way.  Cast, mend, retrieve; I had a rhythm going covering the water where I felt a fish would be laying. I moved up the chute and then started moving back down. The fish may be holding in deeper water.  I figured I would cover the water as I moved down river and then wade to a different spot where the water was deeper.

Taking in the slack on my line, I roll-cast up and across the current. The stimulator twitched aggressively and I instinctively raised my rod tip. The line stretched taut. It was a clean set and I had a fish on! The first instinct of a cutthroat trout is to run down current. In doing so they tend to help you by taking out the slack line and get you on the reel. When you are on the reel you have a definite advantage. You let the rod tip work for you. The reel’s drag gives line when the fish runs. You take line in as you reel the trophy into your waiting net.

This was a nice fish. Nothing huge, but when it was in my net  I could read that it was 14 inches of fat cutthroat. I unhooked it and let it rest in the net dipping it lower into the current. Then when it showed renewed strength I lowered the cradle away and the fish was gone.

I moved on down to another gravel ledge that poured into a big deep green hole. This is what we drive up the Joe for and it was a good start to our three-day getaway.

We left Post Falls at about 11 am. Our start was later than usual but we were in no hurry. At exit 15, east of Coeur d’Alene, we hit stopped traffic and it looked like there might have been an accident up the freeway in the direction of Wolf Lodge. We sat in a long line as police cars converged and then moved past us up the hill out of sight.

We crept forward ever so slowly. I noticed the traffic coming west must be stopped somewhere up the highway out of our sight line. This was not good! It meant that the accident was much worse and covered both lanes. We crept forward another 20 feet.  I noticed that in a few more feet I could turn and cut across the westbound lane and take exit 15 back into Coeur d’Alene. This would allow us to drive through the city and take Highway 95 south through Plummer and St. Maries. We crept forward another five feet and I eased on the gas and cranked the wheel to the left. It was a gamble but we really didn’t want to sit idling in traffic for the next hour.

The rest of the drive was uneventful. We cruised through to Plummer and took a left on the highway that leads past Heyburn State Park and through the metropolis of St. Maries. No one was on the road up the St. Joe and we made good time. It started raining about midway up the river and we moved through showers until we arrived at Huckleberry Campground. We found one of our favorite spots open, backed in, and got set up.

Throughout those three sunny days, I fished and Linda read her books. With the cold weather, we noticed that the leaves were changing colors. This change was taking place all around us as we camped. Both Linda and I mentioned that the beautiful fall colors seemed to be changing right before our eyes. It was special and very beautiful.

We had great meals and at the end of each day we watched a movie before we went to bed. The weather was wonderful but at night it got cold. We would wake up to temperatures in the mid to low 30’s. Fall is definitely here.

Thinking

I have been fishing a bit during our latest homestand. I caught some pike and a largemouth bass. Then while fishing I saw a moose cooling off in the lake near the place where we keep our boat. As I fished I thought about many things, this is one of my thoughts.

As we travel over the hundreds of miles of blue lines on a map, one of our favorite things is to listen to audiobooks. We have explored the islands in the Pacific through the humorous writings of Maarten Troost. We listened to his The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific and were so taken with his odd take on island life that we followed up with, Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu. We laughed out loud as we rumbled on down his road and ours, the time passing surprisingly fast each day.

Following those adventures, we listened to books by comedians Jay Mohr, Howie Mandel, and Billy Crystal. All were very good; funny yet provoking. Each told of the various insecurities they had and how hard they had to work to become successful comedians. All three writers gave in-depth looks into their childhoods and what growing up provided them when they became successful adults. Again we enjoyed listening as we traveled.

Today, I was sitting out in the sun and my thoughts grabbed on to something that all three writers had said in their books. During the descriptions of their childhood, each one mentioned a quote from their fathers that had stuck with them as they grew older. Some of the thoughts were heavy and they used them to guide their way to adulthood.  Other quotes were funny and brought warm feelings of being with their fathers back into their memories.

Sitting in the warm sun, I thought back to my dad and I immediately remembered something he said every day. It was a small thing, but dad used it as his go-to acknowledgment.  Whenever someone thanked Dad, which was quite often, his reply would be “You bet!”  When he held the door for someone and they nodded thanks, he would reply “You bet!”  I must have heard him say those two words a million times, always with a smile and a nod of his head.  Over the phone, you could tell when a customer thanked him as they said goodbye because Dad would end the call with a “You bet! Good-bye!”

I smiled thinking about this little phrase. It was part of my life with my wonderful father and now that I think about it, I realize that I say the same thing quite often.  It is also my go-to acknowledgment. I say it every time someone thanks me. It’s automatic.

Now I know I have gotten many things from my parents; singing from my Mom and thumb twiddling from my Dad, to name a couple. They are a part of being this human named Dean. They are ever-present in my being just like my personal space bubble and my quiet nature.  I am so thankful that my parents raised me the way they did and instilled in me all the things that make me the way I am. 

I know that if my folks were alive today and I thanked them for all they did, Mom would smile and probably cry and Dad would say “You bet!”

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Note: Our truck is in for repair. It turned out to be a sensor in the transmission was bad. We are having it replaced and then they will do a full transmission service on the unit. Total for repairs and service, about $800. Ouch!

Casino Camping and Red Tailed Surfperch

The entrance to our campground.

The sounds were electronic, like walking into the area at the fair where the Whack-a-Mole resides. Colored lights were everywhere; flashing, blinking, trying to get your attention. But even more noticeable was all the smoke! Not the smoke from forest fires! Smoke from cigarettes. We were visiting the Snoqualmie Casino. I think the last time Linda and I were in a casino was in Las Vagas and we had just gotten off the Colorado River. The casino parking lot was to be our camping spot for this night on our road trip to Westport. The parking lots were well lit and looked safe.  Inside the casino, we were both not comfortable as we wandered around. We spent some time checking out the gaming area, stood and watched a few minutes, and then headed back to our camper. The smoke was just too much for us to handle. That brief half hour of casino life was enough for us.

Checking out the view.

Walking to our campsite located in a lower parking lot under a big street light, we noticed how clean the area was. This free camping might be something we could use more often.

Earlier that day, we had driven west leaving Post Falls and a little forest fire haze behind. Linda needed an ocean fix so we were dropping in to visit Don and Caroline in Westport, WA. As the miles passed the smoke grew thicker. The plan was to camp somewhere over by Vantage, WA, but as the miles ticked off and the smoke blanketed the Wheatland. We adjusted our plans and kept pushing, searching for smokeless skies.

We made it!!!

We crossed over Snoqualmie Pass and the smoke cleared, but finding a camping spot was a bit harder. Linda checked the Free Camping website and noted that the Snoqualmie Casino was recommended as a semi-quiet free spot so we headed there.

Once we parked and explored a bit we settled in and ate dinner. Our location was good in that we were parked in a safe zone. The light from the street lamp was very bright so it took some doing to get the camper dark enough to sleep, but we were successful.

Traffic was consistent and the gamblers came and went. Some folks stood outside and talked but all in all, it wasn't the worst spot we have camped.  In the morning we packed up and drove on.

Linda beach running with surf fishing happening beyond.

Just after hitting the road, I noticed that the check engine light had come on in the truck. Linda got out the truck operational manual and read about the indicator. It said that we could still drive the rig as long as the indicator didn't flash. With reluctance, we pushed on.

Traffic in the Tacoma/Olympia area was terrible! We spent most of our drive bumper to bumper crawling along. As we neared our exit to Aberdeen, Linda called the Dodge dealership in that city and they said we could stop there and get a reading on what the warning light was saying.

When we arrived we drove directly into their service entrance and a young fellow checked out the code. It had something to do with the transmission and so the first fellow went and got a crusty old mechanic who brought a bigger code reader box. He plugged it in and mumbled as he talked to himself.

Red Tailed Surfperch.

After reading the code and griping about life, he basically said that if the transmission was working ok, then he would drive it and we could probably make it back home. He said that everything read normal and that the code may have been a glitch. He reset the indicator and sent us on our way. He also said that if the light came back on and didn't flash, then we could probably make it home and get it repaired there. Then he huffed and said that he wasn't going to tear it apart on a Friday afternoon, that was for sure.

We thanked everyone and drove on to Don and Carolines, our truck showing nothing to be concerned about.

At Don and Carolines we relaxed, watched football and enjoyed our visit.  We really enjoy those two and love just being around them.  We laugh and talk about what's happening in the world. Don tells stories and we eat and drink.

Bennett at Bennett's.

Caroline and I went surf fishing for Red Tailed Surfperch.  We pulled on our waders and took our rods and reels in hand and marched into the waves. I used a Carolina rig with worm bait and Caroline used a pyramid weight and hook with clam bait. The first time we went to the shores the sun was out and the ocean was calm.  We caught a few, but nothing to write home about.

The next time we went out it was raining, windy and the surf was big.  I caught one fish on my first cast but that was all, we were not very successful.  I would say that we learned a lot about surf fishing, but not enough to brag.  We'll have to give it another chance when we visit again.

Almost bought one, maybe next time.

Caroline, Don, Linda and I went into Westport and ate dinner at Bennett's Fish Shack. They have some of the best fish and chips around so we all loaded up. Don's sons, Chris and Eric had been out fishing over the weekend and we were able to spot their boats in the marina across from the Shack. This confirmed that they were safe from the harsh seas that the weather was providing.

On Monday morning we loaded our camper and headed out. Don and Caroline were packing to go camping at Ft. Worden up by Port Townsend so we needed to get out of their hair and let them go.

We chose to drive home via highway 12. south of Mt. Rainier. We felt that this would get us past all the traffic and road work that we endured on our trip over and would only add a little time to our trek. The plan was to break the trip into two segments like we did on the way over and camp somewhere along the way easing the driving burden.

All was well as we veered south and crossed US-5. Then the check engine light lit again.  I made the decision to continue on because the truck was running like a dream, but I said we would drive home all the way today and get it in for repairs ASAP.

We were cruising and enjoying minimal traffic. Our route took us through Mossyrock and up to White Pass. We were making time and then came the construction. In one area, they were clearing up the results of rock slides. This cleanup stopped us several times for a few minites each time. We continued on.  At one point they detoured us onto a very curvy nerrow road thet led around Rimrock Lake. This detour took forever and we had to drive 25 mph all the way. By the time we reached Naches we were well behind schedule. The truck was running beautifully so we pushed on.

It was smooth sailing and as we approached Ritzville. We finished our book on CD and Linda picked up her phone to check Facebook for stories that she could read to me to entertain me as I drove. There was a traffic warning posted about some power lines that were stopping traffic on our route through Spokane. GREAT!

Linda watched the news feed as we approached our final traffic test. When we arrived everything was moving as smooth as silk heading east.  The west lanes were blocked by a huge wreck, it didn't affect us, but boy did we feel bad for everyone involved over there. We drove on into Post Falls and parked the truck. I was stressed to the max but the work was done.

We unloaded the gear, ordered pizza and watched America Ninja Warrior! Tomorrow I will get our truck into the doctor and get everything taken repaired.