Northwest Reel Life August 2024 Volume 3 Issue 10 - Flipbook - Page 28
With some driving you
could be fishing planted
rainbows in many lakes or
clear mountain streams,
fishing for High Serria
brown or golden trout.
With a full tank of gas, the
angler could be swinging
a fly for a large chinook
in a formidable coastal
or central valley river. The
long and short of it, I was
in heaven. I had to earn a
living but I was truly a fisha-holic.
Why the trip down memory
lane? I probably could have
written this without the
memory download but that
said; I did spare you the
sorted details of 40-plus
years of fishing trips, I was
setting the stage for an
unexpected transition and
the actual content of this
article.
I can’t explain it, but in
the last 5 or 10 years I
have noticed that I’ve
transitioned from an
Eveready Fish-a-holic to
being content writing
about fishing or even
sitting around a campfire
yapping about it. Oddly
during the same period,
my ability to sleep pretty
much anywhere seems
to have gone the way of
the dodo bird. Are the two
connected, possibly?
That would be a whole
study of its own. The glaring
tie may be arthritis. Pretty
much everything hurts all
the time and daily activities
are a chore. Fishing;
holding a rod, tying knots,
managing snaps, clips and
downrigger balls require a
focused effort these days.
Then sleeping has become
a serious problem. Gone
are the days of a few quick
winks in the driver’s seat
while parked at a boat
ramp. With the onset of
arthritis and associated
structural problems
sleeping in a tent on the
ground is completely out of
the question.
Unfortunately, the fishing
industry hasn’t taken a
look at limited functionality
due to arthritis. At my end,
I try to set gear up so that
even with hand strength or
manual dexterity issues I
can rig the gear with some
level of confidence. Having
most things pre-tied has
been a huge help. The use
of the commercial troll line
snaps for the downriggers
allows me to easily
connect the downrigger
balls. Keeping the boat
organized, having a seat
with good lumbar support,
and having autopilot for the
longer runs also helps.
