Its a State of Mind

This past weekend I had plans to hit the coast for more saltwater action but gale warnings kept me closer to home.  With a wide variety of options and too much sun I decided to go trout fishing.  Had the weather been cloudy there were other options I would have explored but when life gives you lemons one makes lemonade. While I love so many different species trout fishing always feels like coming home especially in the fall. 

 pseudo's were out and small fish were on them.  

 Even some larger fish were on the pseudo's

 Well looky here

 A closer look

Beautiful bows put me in a joyous state of mind

Time well Spent

Every year a group of friends reunites on the banks of New York's Salmon River.  As we get older and hopefully a little wiser these trips become more about our time together and less about how many fish were or were not caught.  This year I'm glad that was the case as fish were hard to come by.  In years past one could pretty much count on 1-3 pulls for 10 hours on the river.  This year it was more like 1-3 pulls for 24 hours on the river.

Instead of being discouraged I found myself doing the only thing I could, enjoying the time with my friends and fishing each run as carefully as I could.

That being said I didn't land a fish, although I did encounter a couple, but I got my ass handed to me, which was fun in and of itself.  The nymphers in our crew fared a little better, but not much.  Unfortunately I wasn't with them when they hooked fish so I didn't get any chrome pics.  Despite the slow fishing many laughs were shared, tales were told, we caught up on each others lives and shared some great meals.

Looking back at our time on the water I can't imagine a better way to spend some quality time with friends. 

Working the run

Cheese

Post lunch riverside siesta

Heading out at first light

Taking It all In

Last weekend found my wife and I taking our son for a hike.  His teenage enthusiasm was let us just say, less than stellar.  When he realized that we were not budging, he pretty much surrendered to the inevitable.  Lucky for us, it was a perfect fall day.  The sun was warm, but not hot. There was a little bite in the air at 10 am when we started out and bluebird skies.  The vista from the top did not disappoint.  For me, seeing my son appreciating what I hold dear, filled me with gratitude and love.  He's not ready or excited to go on an overnight backpacking trip anytime soon but there is now a foundation to build upon in terms of more exposure to mother nature.
 

 Getting ready to head out

 

 Light on the trail.

 

 The beginning of the transformation.  Note the headphones.  

Below are vista's we were treated to.

 

Below taking it all in.