into Spring action ~ LAWOK LEPAS

into Spring action

Spring is coming. I know it. Might be cold now with some snow around, but before long trees will be sprouting buds, robins will be singing their morning song and the ice cap that's gripping our lakes will melt into fishable water. Please don't bother trying to convince me there still is six more weeks of winter whether that pudgy rodent back east saw his shadow or not. In my mind, spring is coming sooner than later.

At least that's what I tell myself.

Why does this point really matter? After all, spring will get here when it gets here no matter how hard I try to will it here now. Well, it matters because I'm a fisherman.

Huh?

One of my favorite quotes was penned by John Buchan and reads, "The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope." There is no better occasion for hope than the approaching spring.
The longer I fish, the more I realize that the anticipation of fishing, the occasion for hope, is as important as the fishing itself. Those like myself that truly live the angling lifestyle spend countless hours planning adventures, preparing tackle, studying technique and the quarry, talking with our fellow fish freaks and perhaps reading tales of others' fishing adventures. We discuss, theorize, hypothesize and generally obsess about how we're really going to catch 'em on our next day on the water. Its' all this hope that drives our addiction.

The approaching spring and new fishing season it brings is the macro version of anticipation in the same way that the first big high country snows of late fall get skiers fired up. At a lower level, this concept carries on to each outing we take. It's what gets us out of bed at ridiculously early hours and motivates us through the process of loading the truck or hitching the boat. Today is the day, the day we put it all together and catch Walter (remember "On Golden Pond''?) or whatever the fish of your dreams is called. Mythical or otherwise, Walter provides hope for millions of anglers.

At the micro level, each cast provides a new opportunity for success, be it a nervous bobber and tap on your jig or a hiccup in your perfect drift that makes you almost subconsciously realize you've been bit and spring into action. Each cast requires your attention because this cast could be the one you've been hoping for.

For me, it's all about generating the strike and executing a perfect hookset; the ensuing fight is almost inconsequential in most cases. My Walter would be the exception here.

So as we thankfully head into a new spring, I find myself spending lots of time in the man cave, fondling tackle, tinkering with lures and generally wrapping my head around the approaching season and all the hope it brings.

Regardless of how things look now, somewhere out there my first open-water catch of the year is swimming around ignorant of our impending meeting. I just hope we meet soon.
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