FFIM

No matter our age, we must all be getting old.... 3 days to opening day and the most recent three topics are about “aging”, “medical hardware” and “CMP”. Anyone going to wet a line on Monday?!?!?

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"Fishermen...spending their lives in the fields and woods...are often in a more favorable mood for observing her, in the intervals of their pursuits, than philosophers or poets even, who approach her with expectation." - Thoreau

Nope, not me. I used to be, in my 20’s, itching and chomping at the bit to get out. Certainly in a few opening days we’d put in a canoe at the boat launch on Long Pond in theBelgrades and take a Landlocked Salmon, or maybe two, and they were so cold they fought like an old waterlogged boot.

MostAprils we went out a dozen times, and got skunked at least ten of them......probably all 12.

I now smile, brew up a pit of coffee(Peet’s........thanks Al),and read the reports from GLS, and elsewhere.

I fiddle with my tackle, clean lines, grease reels, tie up all new leaders, etc.

Starting about May 10th I get serious about things. “Opening Day”, at least for me now, is an abstract concept.

Dave M

I'll wait till Wednesday and hopefully avoid yahoos.

I'm wetting a line on Sunday... Although I am aged, both in years and miles, I still have to sing for my supper and fly rods. I will get to play with my new glass rod though.

I used to fish opening day here in NH, Jan 1. Crazy. Frozen feet, iced guides.Now opening day is Memorial Day weekend on the West Branch.

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Ignore climate change at your peril.

I'm not waiting til Monday - I'm starting my Opening Day celebration tomorrow with a brisk paddle down the St. George - then I'm gonna hit a couple of year-round streams, then head back to Orono for a pub crawl then back down to a tidal brook on Sunday - if I'm still married on Monday I might head down to another coastal brook in the evening...then again, if I'm not married on Monday, I might just go fishing for 2 days!
And speaking of aging again, you really know you're getting older when even the winter seems to pass by too quickly...
Now is the perfect time for anything to happen...Tight Lines!

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The best things in life...aren't things.

Dave M - agree on the Peets coffee. I was a dyed in the wool Starbucks dark roast guy, but we tried Peet’s, and not only does it hold its own on darkness but it tastes great. ($2 less per pound too)

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"Fishermen...spending their lives in the fields and woods...are often in a more favorable mood for observing her, in the intervals of their pursuits, than philosophers or poets even, who approach her with expectation." - Thoreau

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Ignore climate change at your peril.

Is this the same German owner Krispy Kreme that has been in the news this week?

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"Fishermen...spending their lives in the fields and woods...are often in a more favorable mood for observing her, in the intervals of their pursuits, than philosophers or poets even, who approach her with expectation." - Thoreau

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Ignore climate change at your peril.

Thanks! I had only ready a headline... appreciate the summary

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"Fishermen...spending their lives in the fields and woods...are often in a more favorable mood for observing her, in the intervals of their pursuits, than philosophers or poets even, who approach her with expectation." - Thoreau

I had to try Peets coffee after all the talk of it. Wow, you guys are right. Another convert here!

Good news is its on sale this week at shaws for $2 off per bag. I stocked up. Thanks for the recommendations!

I got my season started as part of a desert camping trip in Utah last week. No pics, but I fished with my 6 year old daughter in a very unique spot. It's a tiny spring creek in the middle of slick rock canyon country in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. I'd happened upon it on another early spring camping trip 10 years ago and it was still there and so were the trout. There's a neat waterfall, pictographs, and a pueblo ruin further up the stream from where we fished. Where we fished it was mostly 4-6 feet across. It was super brushy, but there were little trout rising to a mix of midges and what I'm pretty sure were stoneflies. Once we switched to a stimmie trying to imitate the stones, I caught one and my daughter hooked two working long downstream drifts back under the bushes. We rose plenty, but it was a tough stream to fish -- all brush and the fish were easy to spook. And the old deaf dog (not a metaphor, his name is Boze, he's 13, he's mostly deaf, but he still loves to fish) did not actually get lost, just a little bit turned around. We didn't catch many and we didn't have enough time and the brush and the breeze meant we spent more time with flies in the bushes than flies in the water, but we had a great afternoon.

Pushaw,
That sounds like a great start to the season. I hope that my old, mostly deaf dog makes it long enough to fish with me and my daughter (2.5 years old now).

In other news, work called and I wasn't able to fish today. But I'm going fishing tomorrow with my old dog.

And a question for the older guys here: I turned 40 last fall and almost immediately became a big softy thinking about things like "go fishing now, you'll be dead a long time." Is this normal?

Some of us are on the upslope, others near the top, and the rest on the downslope.... I think it is normal once the summit is in sight. Just don’t get a toupe, red convertible and skinny jeans... it’s just too cliche.

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"Fishermen...spending their lives in the fields and woods...are often in a more favorable mood for observing her, in the intervals of their pursuits, than philosophers or poets even, who approach her with expectation." - Thoreau