Riverine Chronicles

It was a frantic drive home from work to get everything ready for the evening fish. I couldn't get home fast enough.  Not because I was short on time, but because I was excited to fish.  It had been a long winter and I had an evening carved out for myself. Now it was up to me to make the most of it. The sun was peeking through a gray dome, barely.  The weatherman was calling for showers by 8pm.  I figured I could get 4 hours of good fishing in and maybe avoid the rain if I was lucky, but I had my rain jacket packed in case.  The traffic was putting a delay in my fish master plan.  In my master plan i could make my daily commute in exactly 30 minutes and get loaded in exactly 15 minutes and be fishing by 3:30.  This was the master plan.  I would get there just as the waters were at their warmest for the day and my assumption was that they would be more willing to take during this afternoon window, or so I thought.   The clouds were winni...

This is the story of how I caught the fever.  Some people won't believe me and will say that I asked for it or walked in to it with my arms wide open.  Others laugh it off like they think my interest in deer hunting is nothing more than the equivalent of their fantasy football league.   I cant debate it because i've never done fantasy, but my dreams have been haunted by the crunch of leaves lately. This is no fantasy, it is real.  The shadows really move and the shifting wind keeps me up at night. I say it proudly now like i’ve made it through, I beat it, I am immune now. But as I flick the remote, I know i'm kidding myself.  I know that he is still there in the same places i've seen him. Down behind the inside edge of the swamp, or up near the top of the hill hiding in the tangled thicket along the margin of the field, or traveling the hill looking for acorns or a heated lover.   I have seen his fresh scrapes, and I know he’ll be there aga...