Recreation – Catharsis of the Bogue

I feel like singing that old Tom Lehrer song, “Spring is here, Spring is here…” Oh here, just watch it.

While there may not be many pigeons meeting their demise at my hands, I can’t say the same for the fish. The ice is melting, the sun is shining, the fish are hungry and so am I. I just recently cleaned out my garage and nicely stacked my fishing gear near the door. I am almost ready to put them permanently in the car for the summer.

I just love to fish. I like to teach people how to fish. I like to read about fishing so that I can be better at fishing. This summer I will be fishing less and less, thanks to the money grubbing (insert your own insulting adjective here) people who sell gas and are making it hit $4 per gallon. I can’t afford to go fishing; very often.

I will still manage a few trips to the over fished community ponds, and maybe I will take a long hike to a couple of lakes, but that will probably be it. I am not even going to register my boat this year, I don’t know that it will get used. But I will still have my fishing license. A side story on that, I was buying a little pistol last year for my birthday and I neglected to take in 2 current forms of address verification. I only had one utility bill, but they were able to accept my fishing license as proof of address because it was issued by the state. Second best thing I have ever used my license for.

Anyhow, most of you know that we are headed to Florida this year for my daughters Make A Wish. No, I don’t think I will have any great deep sea fishing moments, and Disney only lets you fish in a couple of the lakes if you are a guest of the resort, but the place we are staying for the first part of the trip is made just for kids getting their wish granted. They have all sorts of things geared to kids of all abilities and restrictions, including a fishing pond. I do believe that I am going to volunteer to help these kids fish.

Some of them will never have had the opportunity to fish and I can only hope that they will get into the sport. Some will only ever be able to fish there. How could I not help? Well, if they will let me. I am going to try though.

For a long time I thought fishing was the best thing ever. Now, after teaching my kids to fish, I find that bringing in new people is awesome. My kids were asking me yesterday when we were going to go fishing. They have the bug. My 11 year old wants to learn to fly fish. That may as well be Christmas morning to me.

So, for now, I will clean my gear, respool my reels, and hope that I can get out soon. What about you all? Do you fish? Do you want to fish? Are you willing to split gas so we can go together? I would go with my friend Bob but Georgia is even further away than the mountains here. Let me know what you all think down there in the comments.

Have a great day.

-Justin

It’s Tom Lehrer’s Birthday (nerdist.com)

One of the best things about fall is that it gives you a great excuse to do some of your favorite hobbies—like reading or fishing, for example—without having to give some cheap excuse as to why, because the elements are forever on your side.

For one, the weather is pretty much perfect. It’s not so hot or so cold that any specific kind of clothing is necessary to get through the day. So that means if I want to go fishing at some of the best spots in SLC, I can do it without too extraneous attire. That also means less time getting your kids ready to go out. You know as much as I do that the less prep time, the better. That especially goes for people like me with four kids.

Did you know that autumn is actually one of the better times of the year to go fishing? Yes indeed and there is a great reason for that: All the fish out there are feeding more so that they can get ready for the bitter winter cold. That means more chances to catch the trout at Green River, which is about three hours away from the city but totally worth it, or the Canyon Streams, where the trout are more willing than usual to take your bait.

To be fair, it does get nippier in the evenings, but so what? That’s what sweatshirts were made for. Also, when it does get colder and you just want to hang out inside, there’s no guilt to be felt there, either. On top of that, the sun’s going down earlier so it’s likely that you’re going to want to be inside the house anyway. That gives you the perfect time to curl up with your favorite book—should you parental duties or otherwise allow you to do so—like the latest by Blake Crouch.

For those unfamiliar, the author’s new book, Wayward, is the second installment in his Wayward Pines series. And it centers on protagonist Ethan Burke, a sheriff in the very small titular town where everything is a little … off. No one knows how they got there or who’s behind it all, but Burke’s been outside the barb-wired fences and seems to know what’s going on. Sounds good right? It is, so don’t let me spoil any more of the story here for you. Just be sure to get it if you’re into science/fantasy books like yours truly.

And if reading’s not totally your thing, you’ll have more time to spend doing other leisure activities/hobbies that you might have neglected over the summer. Maybe you’ll finally get the chance to sit with those new albums you’ve been itching to listen to but have been putting off. Again, I can’t suggest Marc Gunn enough for celtic music lovers. It’s also the perfect season to dig back into your video game collection. That goes for whether you feel like firing up your old console or buying the hottest game of the moment on your newer system. There’s also the increasingly popular online gaming community, which includes places like Betfair. Once there, you can join legions of players in bingo, poker, and a slew of other games on your phone, which I prefer so I can do several things at once, or your computer.

One last thing: Can we talk about how beautiful all the trees look right now? I know the leaves changed a little earlier than normal last year and even this year a bit, but it’s still worth heading outside to see that beautiful foliage. It only comes once a year, after all. Enjoy it.

Tag: Recreation

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