New Fishing Car Appreciated

I've been completely happy with my Subaru Outback since I got it in June and have traveled enough to give its ride and useful space a solid test. I was extra happy to have it on Wednesday, though, because of the unexpected 6 inches or so of snow that I wrote about yesterday.

I don't know whether I needed the all-wheel-drive. My friend Tim Mead didn't have to put his Silverado into 4-wheel-drive. However, that was the very sort of circumstance that prompted me to buy the Subaru, despite having been very happy with the Ford Fiesta that was my fishing car before this one and took me all over the country. Between the twisty mountain highways and the rough Forest Service road up Big Wilson Creek, both covered in quite a bit of snow in places, I wouldn't have attempted the trip in the Fiesta, but the Outback handled everything nicely.

In truth, I was just glad to get my fishing car dirty and get it off the highway - even before the snow arrived. Now it looks like it has been much farther north, with an ugly coating of salt and mud. Better clean it off so I can go get it dirty again!

Surprise Snow

Snowy bank of Big Wilson Creek in Western North Carolina. Photo by Tim Mead

I guess I can't say the snow was a total surprise. The forecast I'd looked at had said there was a 40 percent chance of light snow Tuesday during the overnight hours, with a possible accumulation of an inch. However, when I peeked out he hotel window on Wednesday morning, there was already much more than an inch on the ground, and the snow was still falling steadily.

I didn't mind. Not at all, actually. Tim Mead and I had already enjoyed one sunny day of fishing the Delayed Harvest section of Big Wilson Creek in Western North Carolina, and the snow would provide opportunities for a completely different set of photos from the same section of stream.

Travel was super slow on the snow-covered winding roads, the fish bit better on the sunny day, and we cut our fishing time fairly short for a couple of snow- and cold-related reasons (including a clumsy slip on my part that left me with soaked gloves and one sleeve wet to the elbow in 28-degree air). Nevertheless, I got to spend an absolutely delightful day with a very good friend exploring a stream that looked very different than Southern Appalachian streams normally look.

The careful drive to the river on the snowy highways and slow travel through Wilson Creek Gorge, which is downstream of where we fished, only added to the adventure. We stopped several times in the gorge to take photos of the river as it crashed between snow-covered boulders and poured over icy waterfalls. Even the walk to the river carried an added sense of an adventure because of the snow.

We actually only landed one trout (a nice rainbow) on the snowy day, but fish alone don't make or break fishing days. Work-wise, the day was a great success because of the unique snowy photos I was able to get. Personally, it was simply fun.

Delightful Reading

I guess I knew it would happen. You can only stretch 211 pages so far. Still, I was disappointed when reached the end of Tents, Boats and the Ones That Got Away by Tim Mead. I nursed it the best I could -- reading only a chapter at a time, and not every day -- because I realized right away that I would come to the end too soon. Still, the end did come. Thankfully, I can revisit these stories. As Tim notes in Chapter 26, sharing a lesson he learned from a librarian many years ago, some books should be read more than once.

Of course, a few of my "on deck" books also make this one a little easier to finish because the list stemmed from its contents. I was excited to get Izaak Walton's The Compleat Angler, Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac and Henry David Thoreau's Walden for Christmas. I've read A Sand County Almanac, but it has been too many years, and I did not own a copy. I certainly should have read the others, but I haven't.

Tim's stories, which he says are "the truth, mainly," quoting Mark Twain, are built around fishing trips and a few other outdoor adventures, but they are about much more. Sounds cliché to say that, I realize, but it this case it's true. He does an astounding job capturing the wonders of spending time on the water with friends (and alone), the sense of accomplishment in learning a skill, the joy of teaching a skill or passing along a passion to someone else, the thrill of discovering new places, the odd romance of sometimes-miserable conditions... The list could go on. Tim also weaves in life philosophies without preaching, is candid about his own relationships, and shares many of the influences on him as an angler and as an outdoor writer.

Tim Mead is a long-time friend. (He would say, an old friend.) And we've spent a fair amount of time together both on and off the water. Therefore, many of the stories' characters and settings -- and even a few of the stories themselves -- in Tents, Boats and the Ones That Got Away were already familiar to me. The personal tie (including my own name in one surprise mention) added an element of fun. However, my greatest reading joy, and one I'm certain would be shared by virtually any angler or close friend of an angler, came from very relatable themes throughout the book and stories told in a way that simply make them fun to read.

Tim and I have a plan to fish together soon, and I look forward to trading some fish stories and creating a few new ones. Ideally not a memorable story about a fish that gets away, but if so, I suppose that's OK!