It’s close…I can feel it coming even 800 miles away here in Idaho I can feel the spring coming. The anticipation to get back to the river life is enveloping me. I dream of water reading, the sounds of my oars sloshing the water, the pull of the currents against my boat, the feeling of a trout on the end of the line. The joy it brings clients and myself.

I looked at the weather forecast for the Yakima this coming week. It’s gonna be cold, overnight lows in the teens and daytime highs in the low to mid 30’s. Which means things are still a little wintery out there. Anxious doesn’t begin to describe the internal struggle in my head. That disconnect from one life and the connection to another. My whole family is starting to feel it. The kids keep asking when I’m leaving, my lady tells me she doesn’t want me to go. But I want so badly to be riverside and have my whole world be about trouty things.

I can’t seem to be interested in anything else. My mind wanders imaginary river banks and I get lost in the current. That pull, the call, the internal drive to be outside and completely in my element. I tie flies, I watch, read, listen, and study new and old techniques. I’ve even got the fly rod out and started getting my timing and rhythm back. The boat comes out of storage soon, the rig will get packed, and the roof top tent will be cleaned and checked in preparation soon.

Trips are slowly coming in. When I finally get back riverside I know they will come in plenty, clients are starting to reach out and ask all the familiar questions. The stoke to see friends and river peeps again is high. The anticipation of bugs hatching, fish slurping, and dipping the net into the water to introduce people to fish is almost oozing out of me. If you’ve ever fished with me you know the energy level I have is high. In the off season it’s lays dormant, smoldering, but as things start to warm up it turns back into a flame. Hibernation is wearing off and my mind and body already know that we are close. Another few weeks I keep telling myself. Each day is another day closer to everything revolving around fly fishing.

It’s almost time anglers…are you ready? Bet ur ass I am.

Tamarack