East on Highway 4

The goal for today was a fishing trip on the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus for rainbow and brown trout. It morphed into something even better (if that's possible).I hiked down to a spot where a big brown broke me off last month and drifted a black birds nest maybe five times before I hooked up. I had contemplated not bringing my broken net, but repaired it instead. I was happy I took the time to fix it because the fish, while not huge, was game.With a brown in the bag, my day was made. I brought in a bunch of Kokanee, but couldn't pull off the trifecta and get a rainbow. As the wind picked up, I drove out and up to Murphy's to enjoy the 70-degree afternoon without my 5-weight. The leaves are changing and the streets were busy with the ordinary visitors and those celebrating the Day of the Dead which runs through tomorrow. Folks completely done up in skeleton garb made their way in and out of tasting rooms, shops and eateries.I stopped by Frog's Tooth. Last Christmas mom and I stopped in there and were impressed with the friendly atmosphere, lack of pretentiousness, genuine interest in how to get wine shipped to Alaska and of course, wine itself.The conclusion to this day will be spent in my recliner. As long as Arizona wins, USC shows up, and Alabama and LSU make their game something other than a punt-fest, this could be a remarkable Saturday worthy of an extra hour.