The Windy River

Springtime is a lot of work here in North Idaho.  A quick switch from one job to another keeps me on my toes and changing gears from ski to golf mode can be interesting.  This year I also have deal with the lack of good employees and that puts a little more pressure on me to work longer hours to make up for that.  So, you can imagine how happy I was to get out of  town for the first time in a long time.  I loaded up the boat in the back of the new Escalanche and headed to the lake to try my luck at my new pastime, fishing.

Smaller than actual size by a factor of 100

Now before you start saying 'Bob D, you aren't really much of a fisherman.  Didn't you bring a kids spinning rod and reel to the last Deschutes river trip you were on?' The answer is yes. Yes I did.  In fact I think that's why I've never been on another one. But this is different.  I bought a fishing license so I could entertain myself on the float back to where I started.  Here's how it goes: you start by paddling up the river until you are tired, then you float back to the starting point while you have a tasty refreshing beverage as a reward for all the furious paddling you just did.  Dropping a line in the river just seemed like a good idea.  Last year I played B.T.P. and brought my Dock Demon along with me just to try out,

and I actually caught a fish almost without effort.  This year I'm legit and ready to slay massive bass or pike or salmon or whatever kind of fish we have here.  I asked the guy at the license desk what lure to use and he recommended one saying it was all I need to destroy the local fish population.  I had to trust him, he was overweight and goofy looking.  The only better person to get fishing advice from would be the methy guy on a BMX bike living down by the river near the self storage units.

So off I went.  Cooler full of Rocks and a bottle of suntan lotion in the boat I crossed the lake and found the river to be at almost normal levels.  I gave myself a nice upper body workout going upriver for about an hour.  By the time I turned around the wind had picked up to the point where I was being blown in the wrong direction. Sweet.  Now I had to paddle downriver just to get back to the lake.  I was able to refresh myself along the way but my fishing had to wait until I was back in the lake.  I decided on the spot where I ripped my new waders many years ago as the point to start the grand adventure of being a fisherman.  It took longer than I expected to figure out how to cast the amazingly complex Dock Demon but once I got the hang of it I was pro in no time.  The monster you see here took me hours to bring in.  The fight was incredible and after hauling the fresh water behemoth into the boat and taking the photo I let him return to the deep to fight another day.  I did my best Santiago impression when I got back to the Escalanche and loaded up to head home, happy and satisfied at my new 'Expert' status.  (really, have any of you caught more fish this year?  Thought so.)

Driving out of Killarney with the wind at my back I discovered a problem with the Escalanche and loading a 12 foot boat in the fold down pickup bed.  All the dust I kicked up with my 5,000 lbs of American rolling iron blew straight into the cab with me.  By the time I reached the end of the road I was spitting dust and I had to swipe my dashboard in order to read the gauges.  What a mess but it was all worth it to get away and start my new life chapter as the greatest Dock Demon fisherman you know.

GBCH