Falling Over

Ronde Hillside Photo: Michael Davidchik 

"In the entire circle of the year there are no days as so delightful as those of a fine October, when the trees are bare to the mild heavens, and the red leaves bestow the road, and you can feel the breath of Winter, morning and evening -- no days so calm, so tenderly solemn, and with such a reverent meekness in the air." 

-Alexander Smith

Lillian's first steelhead! Photo: Eric Speer

Fall is gone and Winter is upon us now. It is amazing how fast time seems to go the older we get and the more responsibilities we have. Fall of 2012 was a truly special and this year I was finally able to share it more with my family, the way that I appreciate it. Still with a few leaves left on the trees in my front yard, I am thinking about some of the days spent on the water with family and friends that I will always remember. 

Nothing but smiles! Photo: Josh Cavan

This year my daughter got to experience why I love Fall the most of all the seasons of the year. Though cold, wet and dreary compared to fishing in the summer with her father, my daughter Lillian got to see the Fall through my eyes. Fishing, friends, good food and beautiful landscapes and of course the steelhead I travel to find are many of the highlights. 

Though Lillian did not hook it, she got to fight her first steelhead on the spey rod. Photo: Rick Matney  

Though I know there will be more adventures in her future, fishing and otherwise, I hope she is gaining the insight to why her old man and his friends do this every year, meeting in this special place and sharing the same stories talked about for years. Fishing in the Fall is special and this year spending it with the most important person in my life made it more so. I hope to spend many more with her and the friends that made this a memorable one for Lillian. I am a proud father because Lillian knows me a little more now and well, she caught her first steelhead. That experience in itself made my year. 

Another glorious drift.  Photo: Brian Chou

I look forward to another Fall season and many more fishing trips with Lillian.