I’m officially waiting for what seems like everything.
I haven’t wet a fly line in months. Steelhead season closed early in these parts except for the Olympic Penninsula and that’s a weekend trip in and of itself. I haven’t had an entire weekend free. I will however, be headed for the OP on last day of the month, hoping to improve on last year’s outing. Translation: I hope it’s me that catches fish this year while my son, Schpanky, tastes skunk. His first time fishing for steelhead and he catches two. That ain’t right. He’s 18 now, I’m done coddling him. The trip has been booked for months, and for months I’ve been
Waiting.
Today is officially the first day of Spring, but round these parts you sure wouldn’t know it. This year is shaping up to be just like last year: a “La Niña bookend”, as the local meteorologists like to call it: colder than normal, constant rain and intermittent snow. It’s ugly. I watch the evening news and see the breadbasket of the country sweltering in 80 degree heat. While troubling, I gotta tell you that it sounds pretty damn good right now. How about we split the difference and everyone can be 60 degrees and pleasant—you know, spring weather? I have no idea how or why, but the grass is starting to show signs of growth. Unfortunately it’s too wet, the ground too soggy to mow. By the time it’s dry enough to mow, the grass will be knee high. While that makes for excellent Lawn Trout habitat, it causes problems for the lawnmower (me). What we in the Pacific Northwet need are a couple of weeks of sun and warm temps to dry things out, like the Midwest. That kind of forecast is nowhere on the horizon so I find myself
Waiting.
I’ve been trying to keep my mind off the weather while keeping busy with work. However, a very important side project has been weighing on me heavily and I’m waiting to hear back from a very influential company. I expected to hear back a week ago. When I didn’t, I figured no news was good news and they were giving my submission some serious consideration. A week later and still no word. I need to know if the answer is ‘no’ so I can move on, so I fired off an inquiry email. It’s eating at me and I can’t help but wonder how much longer I will be
Waiting.
Another important, but less important side project, is slowly moving forward. I sent an email to the president of a particular fly fishing company asking if they wished to be part of the project. After a week of waiting for a reply, I sent another email. Another week passed and yes, I’m still
Waiting.
It’s not about fishing, but recently I wrote a freelance article and submitted it to the editor of the Seattle Times. After waiting for several days without a reply, I left the editor a voicemail. Then I finally got an email reply, to which I replied. The conversation was still in mid-stride. That was over a week ago, and I find myself once again
Waiting.
As I sit here waiting for things to happen, I was looking forward to my first trout trip of the year. I was invited by my buddy Derek Young of Emerging Rivers Guide Services, to join him and another guy for a day on the Yakima. Because it’s been since last fall since I held my 4 wt in my hand, I was really looking forward to getting out. I was eager to try out my new Redington Sonic Pro waders, too. Unfortunately Derek had a little trouble with the axle on his boat trailer last weekend. He told me that if the new axle didn’t arrive in time, our trip would have to be postponed. Well, I got the call today—the axle wouldn’t arrive in time. While Derek waits for the axle, I await my first trout outing of the year. It looks like it will be well into April before I get to dust off my 4 wt. Until then, I’ll be
Waiting.
While I wait for one or all of the aforementioned things to happen, I thought I’d watch some paint dry. Luckily there’s a website for that, complete with a time-lapse camera. Check it out HERE. It’s riveting stuff, really.
Go ahead, what are you waiting for?
