I awoke this morning to see a dusting of snow on the high peaks looming over the coastal town I call home. The snow makes sense when looking at the calendar but my mind revolts against the very idea that winter is bearing down on us.
The urgency of the season we call Fall is a blur. A blur because this season happens to be one of the best for outdoor pursuits, especially fishing in the Pacific Northwest. The remnants of this past summer are still available. Summer steelhead and saltwater salmon still give us one last taste of the warmer months that seem just like yesterday. Salmon are now pouring upriver with every rain and high tide. Sea run cutthroat prowl saltwater beaches and rise to dry flies in the fog draped river valleys.
There are too many options in the Fall. As I try to decide where to fish later this week I feel an urge that cannot be fulfilled. I still have places, rivers, and beaches I dreamed of fishing this summer and fall. Those dreams are burned into my memories and as long as winter stays away I keep the delusion alive that I still have a chance to take advantage of them. Like an addict I think if only the weather stays dry or the ocean breezes stay mild I could still take advantage of all that the Pacific Northwest offers. It is a fool's errand. Winter will eventually arrive. There is no stopping it's steady march towards our shores.
I will eventually accept the truth and start looking forward to what lies ahead. I just need another couple weeks.
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