June 24, 2009--Time for Changes

I have changed careers. After 36 years in the classroom I have retired. Retired from teaching, not from working. I left education with a deep, profound, and enduring sense of gratitude for the privilege of having been a teacher. My heart was very conflicted but my mind was made up. I was ready to do new things in several parts of my life.

I wanted a different schedule. I wanted to be able to write in the mornings and work later in the day and on weekends. Working on weekends forces me to fish during the week; oh yeah! Besides writing in my fishing journal, writing short stories, and writing articles, I was ready to start blogging. I have been a licensed real estate agent since I as a college kid and I was ready to be a full time agent. I wanted new challenges; I like that this market is difficult.


I had been (pleasantly) caught off gaurd by how busy I had been with customers and clients. So busy I was concerned I may not get to go on this trip. I had been anticipating it for days, well more like weeks.


Instead of leaving early in the morning like usual, I left home well into the afternoon. I spent the night near the river, was up at 6:10, had a big breakfast, and was on the road. The sky was clear but the wind was blowing so dang hard, Max, my Carpwagon, was shakin' and rockin'.


On the river at 7:53, looking at white caps everywhere, I reminded myself that I would rather have wind than cloudy skies when Carping. I tried to act grateful that the sky was clear and ignore the hurricane. The wind was blowing so hard it was affecting my balance. I had to step more tentatively, even standing still, a good gust could knock me off balance. The wind and rough water made visibility fair at best and probably closer to poor. Three hours of wading and I didn't see a single tailing fish, just two fast cruisers escaping the thumps of me slipping around on the rocks.


When the first tailing fish appeared I was so surprised I didn't even need the wind to knock me over, I just about fell on my butt of my own accord. Lo and behold, he even took the fly. He would be the first of several and the smallest fish of the day. He is posing at the top of the post.


An hour passed before I saw another tailing fish. As the wind calmed a bit visibility improved and some fish moved in to the shallows. I didn't get a touch on the SJW. Three fell to the Chocolate Cherry Carp Woollie and the rest to my Carp Carrot. Three of them were in the 13-15# range.


Life is good.

A fat owl

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