We’re on the last leg, though I’m pretty sure that fish don’t have legs. Six states to go, and our plan is to finish the last six this year. New Jersey, Massachusetts, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana . . . We completed the South last year with Georgia and South Carolina, and the Southwest with Utah and Arizona. We’re saving Wyoming and Montana for last.
Nothing is planned, except a trip to Montana in September and then a few days at the Old Faithful Inn fishing in Yellowstone. I keep thinking I need to plan, but in January–on January 6 no less–it’s hard to have much faith in the future. What a black day.
I keep thinking that I should calculate things like how many miles we traveled, how many nights we spent, how much money we spent, and how many species of fish we’ve caught. Maybe I will, but not today. Today maybe I’ll think more about Wyoming. Wyoming is a good place to fish.
We won’t be the first people to catch a fish on the fly in each state, but we have earned some great stories, and we’ve met some great people. Someone said to me recently that when we finished we could start again.
For the first time this year, we don’t have any out-of-state fishing trips on the calendar. It’s an odd feeling, but I’ve more than used my annual vacation time and tapped into my built-up surplus.
I need to keep some vacation time. Next year I want to make three big trips, Idaho, Mississippi, and Nantucket, and it’s still a few years to retirement. When we go to Massachusetts we’ll probably hit Rhode Island. At least I think that’s right. My knowledge of East Coast geography is sketchy. I do know there’s a lot of states crammed into that right hand top corner below Maine.
Mississippi is a big deal because of William Faulkner and the Blues, and in Idaho I want to float the Middle Salmon River and fish Silver Creek. There may not be time for both. Nantucket of course is the port from whence the Pequod sailed, so we’ll be fly fishing for whales.
The Pequod
I’m talking to our friend Mark Morgan about a weekend trip to Beavers Bend in Oklahoma to fish the Mountain Fork, maybe in November. It’s a five-hour drive and I’ve been preparing, putting together a playlist. There are a surprising number of great guitarists from Oklahoma, or at least guitarists who passed through in a significant way: Roy Clark, Michael Hedges, Vince Gill, Tuck Andress, Leo Kottke, Charlie Christian . . . Charlie Freakin’ Christian. Some places, Memphis, say, or New Orleans, you expect a lot of great musicians. I didn’t expect it of Oklahoma, and not so many guitarists. Oklahoma, OK!
But that is probably late November or December. Because the trout season is ending in most places, Kris suggested Arkansas, which I enjoy, but I hate to use up all the neighboring states early. That would take Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas off the board, leaving only New Mexico. The other places where I think we could fish into December are Florida (I have to go in February, so not now), Mississippi (already on the list for February or March), Georgia, and the Carolinas (later, they need more time than a long weekend), Missouri, Arizona, Southern California, and Alabama. It’s all vague and squishy, but those places might be warm enough. Of course I could go to Washington State for the winter steelheading, but I want to go to Seattle in the baseball season. And frankly I’ve done enough steelheading for one year.
We’ll get some trips in, maybe Alabama for New Years. Last year we went to Portugal for New Years, and Alabama’s just like Portugal, right? I guess I’m desperate.
There’s also Hawaii. Mighty fine bonefish in Hawaii.
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Meanwhile last weekend we made a quick trip to Damon’s 7 Lakes to fish for bass. I caught a couple, and I also caught the world-record bluegill.
Ok, I lied about that world-record part, but it was a nice bluegill, and it stripped line just like a permit.
