Fishing the rivers of love

(photo: Fishing on the Skagit.)

A lot of folks thought I was crazy when I told them about my Valentine’s Day plans: going fishing on the Skagit River.

For one thing, isn’t Valentine’s Day the one day of the year many people know they WON’T be fishing? It’s not exactly viewed as a romantic couples activity. But that was kind of the point. We wanted to celebrate our love, but we didn’t want to be suckered into fighting for restaurant reservations. We hadn’t fished in Washington yet, and we’d long sought an excuse to hire a guide to teach us spey-rod technique (that means two-handed – the fish here are bigger than the ones we’re used to!).

And we had a wonderful day on the river. Sure, the air and the water were both a brisk 40 degrees. Sure, it rained much of the day and we lost feeling in our feet. And sure, the fish weren’t exactly jumping onto our hooks.

But it’s true that a day on the river is better than pretty much any day anywhere else. We and our guide, Ryan (who fortunately didn’t have a Valentine’s-Day date planned) had the normally busy Skagit pretty much to ourselves. Low-lying clouds shaped like cotton candy skimmed the treetops. We saw bald eagles and a beaver that slapped its tail on the water as we went by. We practiced our casting and a couple times were blessed with the singular feeling that comes with knowing we did it right.

And at the end of the day, as we headed home tired and cold, we knew we’d given and received the best possible present: time.

(photo: Ryan and his dog, Grover)