Changing the agenda

History told my buddy Rob that it’s about time for the silvers to start showing up at a particular inlet. Of course if fish were always where they were supposed to be, or where anglers wanted them, the whole quest would be distilled to a sterile formula of going to the exact same places, doing the exact same thing and getting the exact same result.

It’s not that anglers want things to be difficult, we just enjoy the payoff of time and experience and a payoff is better when it’s earned.

Rob came tight on the first pass, but the hook popped right at the boat. Other than a pink, that was it for the next hour. We watched seiners cruise down to their staging area near the fishing grounds in anticipation of the next open. The charter boats had long since passed a spot like this on their way to more productive water, burning a boat-payment’s worth of gas to ensure the totes are filled and the clients happy. And of course locals motored around, coming and going from forest service cabins, camping sites and fishing spots.

We all had our chosen reason to be out there, no better or more noble than the other. Just people looking for fish and enjoying the calm water and first bright sun in a week.

There are days you simply just accept the fate, so as the hooks stayed clean, Rob, myself and our wives settled into boating mode. That happens this time of year and there’s nothing wrong with it. The frenetic pace of summer warrants a day to just take a breath.

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