Topo Map
I have been lacking motivation to write for the last couple of weeks. I’m just dying to get on the river, but the weather and prospects for local fishing in the winter is pretty low. And, I’m just not as interested in fishing in sub-freezing temperatures anymore. This has all brought on a lethargy. A little SAD maybe. I don’t know, but I’m ready to hit the river soon.
I bring you something a little different: a two minute reading of this post. Click on the link below to listen.
Let me know if there was a problem with the audio (other than my voice—I already know that’s a problem, I’m talking technical issues here).
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For those of you who can’t stand listening to me, don’t want to drive your workmates crazy listening to me, or just prefer to read instead of listen, here is the hardcopy:
Speeding along the twisting canyon road, my eyes rarely leave the river—watching, and waiting for a rise. A dimple and ripple expanding in rings. Emanating ever outward—like the map I spread over the kitchen table last week, and the week before, and the week before that—it’s rings expanding over the earth and right off the table’s wooden edge.
Not really rings, but ragged lines. Lines stepping their way up the smooth pate of a hill. Lines that push and pinch together veeing up a canyon: a thin blue strand wefting through the warp of brown.
Snow dusts the gravel where the truck rolls to a crunchy stop at the top of a canyon. In the alpenglow, and by the glow of the cab light, the map is unfolded and consulted. A finger follows the route down. The sun suddenly thrusts itself above a far ridge, and we follow its diffused edge down, as the snow melts before us.
A month ago we traced the contours of the map. Then, there, hunched over paper, tracing the contours of the map, it was all possibilities and anticipation. The giddiness of a new fishing season building as lines were checked. Flies, feathers and a vice packed. Waders rolled and stowed. The Thermos readied in the early morning darkness as the soft hum of the furnace pulsed through the preparations.
But here, now, down in the crease of the canyon… My line lassos realities, cuts an arc out of the sky. Water bunches and folds around my legs: hard edges fore, soften aft, and spread, following the river. Taking a piece of me until those wakes merge and flatten—all a part of the flow. These lines in the sky and water mirror the topography surrounding me. They shadow me through the day and into the season.
Now that was a surprise! Not what you normally expect to see (or hear)on a fly fishing blog. You ought to throw something like that into the mix every so often.
And it didn’t bother any of my co-workers as I am the only one in this end of the building on a Saturday morning( yeah that sucks, but I work every Sat. till noon).
Now I think I will crank up the Ipod and enjoy a little vintage Dwight Yoakum-Live at the Roxie.
Have a great weekend.
Harry, I’m glad it wasn’t too off-putting. Working Saturday–that does stink, but does that mean you get some other day off–like a day when the rivers are a little freer? I’m sitting at the
vicevise right now tying up a few flies for the annual trip to the South Fork of the Boise in two weeks (actually, 11 days, 15 hours and 55 minutes, but who’s counting?) with the Joe Bonamassa and Jeff Healey Band cranked in the headphones). I haven’t touched the vise for about 6 months (way to use my winter, I know!), so we’ll see what kind of butchery I can perform here. Enjoy(?) work today.Nope, no other day off-it’s 6 days a week,every week.That seriously limits the fishing time and if the weather doesn’t cooperate (like last year when it rained so much)it cuts into it even more.
I haven’t tied much this winter either. Frankly, I didn’t use up what I tied the year before and didn’t need to. Starting to tie up some smallmouth & white bass streamers now. If the weather holds that should start to pick up any time now.
That stinks Harry! I do remember last year’s wet spring/early summer–that sure pushed back a lot of fishing for me. We are always at the mercy of the snowpack and rain here in the Great Basin, and I know we always need it, but I secretly enjoy the years when we have a little less because that means a lot more fishing for me! But a couple of years in a row of that, and we’re in serious trouble around here. Let’s hope we all get a bit of fishing under our belts soon!
you guys crack me up- there must be something goin around- I’m:
A. Working today, Sat as well, in valiant effort not to avoid canceling fishing tomorrow. A rather inopportune deadline approaches next week- uh oh. I’m about to clear out of here get some packing done for tomorrow.
B. I just got back on the tying horse myself, none too pretty there either. Where’s that muscle memory from last season?! Oh I get it now, I was never very good last season either, bummer.
C. Apropos of the original post, love all the map research over the winter also. For me, it’s TOPO!USA, have my favorite wilderness areas all blotted in trails, markers for future trips.
D. Keep the faith fellas, new season is just starting to kick up around here. Mike
Mike, I’d say it was something in the water, but upon further reflection, it is decidedly something out of the water: us! I’m lucky if I tie up a couple dozen flies a year. Just enough to get by with. I’m not sure why I don’t like tying. I have TopoUsa v2 (do you have a newer version? there are some things that kind of bug me about the version I have). But there is something about the old paper topos I love )kinda like a Kindle compared to a hardback I guess–I’m all about tactile). I hope you aren’t around to read this this morning (that means you successfully made your escape and it works out better than last week’s snowstorm).
[...] morning I was reading Scott’s blog over at Cutthroat Stalker titled “A New Season’s Topography”. In it he waxes eloquent about [...]
Nice. The Big Hole has opened up and turned over the past few weeks. I’ll still milk a few weeks of X-skiing until the snow retreats higher than I want to go. In Portland OR for the week, saw a few salmon boated out on the river yesterday.
ER, Thanks for dropping in. Sounds (and looks from one of your Friday Skywatch shots) like there’s still a bit of snow in Butte, America to milk the x-country skiing a bit longer. I didn’t make it to Ennis last year because of the high flows all year–maybe this is the year to hit the Big Hole for me. By the way, congrats to Emily!