This weekend was the annual…kinda annual boys fishing trip. Tater, Sande, Sammy, Max and myself headed to my secret honey hole for a little R&R and fishing. Tater and Sande brought their sons so the seven of us were roughing it for the weekend.
Of course Tater and Doug were late as usual. While Sammy, Sande and his son found the place without any problem, Doug and Tater couldn't read my map or the detailed directions…. During their detour they got to race a black bear down a dirt road. They told us that bear was hauling down the road at 30mph. Don't try to out run a bear!! While they were late it left more beverages for the rest of us. Sande did an outstanding job finding us a camp site right next to the creek. The place had great shade and plenty of room for all of us to hang out. Strong work Sande!!
Saturday was interesting. We didn’t head out until around 10am due to a very very late night. I hiked everyone back in the valley about 3 miles. I thought they would enjoy the solitude but I think I made the mistake of sending these guys back too far. First of all it was a long hump back there and with the late start it got really hot out. Then, everyone was dumb enough not to bring enough water. Finally, hiking that far after a "big night" was tough. My plan was to drop them at one of the honey holes and have them work their way back to the trail head. Didn’t work that way.
The fishing was TERRIFIC!!!
The hike back kinda SUCKED!!!
After a break for a very late lunch we decided to start the hike back. I made the mistake of following Tater up the river instead of insisting we head up to the trail. BIG MISTAKE...note to self - Dont follow Tater. Not a big deal but we were walking directly into a deep canyon. After jumping over and around huge boulders and doing a little swimming in the small pools we finally found a spot that wasn’t vertical so we could climb out. One payoff was at we saw a very cool water fall. I was hoping that the pool below the fall would be full of Brookies but the pool was covered with brush so I couldnt get a fly in there. So we hiked a half a mile through this canyon and didnt even cast to a fish.
After we hauled our tails out of that canyon and back to the trail head most of us headed back to camp to chill out and get re-hydrated. Sammy and Max stayed on the river and caught a ton of fish. That’s what they told us anyway. I think they sat under a tree and sang camp songs… Just kidding gents.
Sunday….Oh, Sunday. Normally Sammy and I would have been back on the water before 8am fishing. That simply can’t happen with Tater, Max and Sande in tow. We pulled out butts out of bed late again. Sammy headed home early to take care of honey doos and the rest of us hung out at the camp site and chilled out the rest of the day. Im embarrassed to say that I didn’t even wet a line all day Sunday. The cool thing about the day was that the rest of us spent the day just hanging out and having a few adult beverages. I didnt mind skipping the fishing cause I was able to hang with the boys.
Hanging with these guys is always interesting…. We can’t resist giving each other more crap than any one man deserves. But that’s the game with these knobs. Ripping on each other gives us entertainment and no one in the group is exempt. Its our own way of showing the love via abuse. Tough love huh?
As I think about these knobs it’s interesting how we all started hanging with each other:
These are some of the best friends I’ve have ever had. While its not "manly" to talk about this type of crap I know that each of these guys have my back and will be there if and when I need them. They each have very different approaches and views of life.
Of course Tater and Doug were late as usual. While Sammy, Sande and his son found the place without any problem, Doug and Tater couldn't read my map or the detailed directions…. During their detour they got to race a black bear down a dirt road. They told us that bear was hauling down the road at 30mph. Don't try to out run a bear!! While they were late it left more beverages for the rest of us. Sande did an outstanding job finding us a camp site right next to the creek. The place had great shade and plenty of room for all of us to hang out. Strong work Sande!!
Saturday was interesting. We didn’t head out until around 10am due to a very very late night. I hiked everyone back in the valley about 3 miles. I thought they would enjoy the solitude but I think I made the mistake of sending these guys back too far. First of all it was a long hump back there and with the late start it got really hot out. Then, everyone was dumb enough not to bring enough water. Finally, hiking that far after a "big night" was tough. My plan was to drop them at one of the honey holes and have them work their way back to the trail head. Didn’t work that way.
The fishing was TERRIFIC!!!
The hike back kinda SUCKED!!!
After a break for a very late lunch we decided to start the hike back. I made the mistake of following Tater up the river instead of insisting we head up to the trail. BIG MISTAKE...note to self - Dont follow Tater. Not a big deal but we were walking directly into a deep canyon. After jumping over and around huge boulders and doing a little swimming in the small pools we finally found a spot that wasn’t vertical so we could climb out. One payoff was at we saw a very cool water fall. I was hoping that the pool below the fall would be full of Brookies but the pool was covered with brush so I couldnt get a fly in there. So we hiked a half a mile through this canyon and didnt even cast to a fish.
After we hauled our tails out of that canyon and back to the trail head most of us headed back to camp to chill out and get re-hydrated. Sammy and Max stayed on the river and caught a ton of fish. That’s what they told us anyway. I think they sat under a tree and sang camp songs… Just kidding gents.
Sunday….Oh, Sunday. Normally Sammy and I would have been back on the water before 8am fishing. That simply can’t happen with Tater, Max and Sande in tow. We pulled out butts out of bed late again. Sammy headed home early to take care of honey doos and the rest of us hung out at the camp site and chilled out the rest of the day. Im embarrassed to say that I didn’t even wet a line all day Sunday. The cool thing about the day was that the rest of us spent the day just hanging out and having a few adult beverages. I didnt mind skipping the fishing cause I was able to hang with the boys.
Hanging with these guys is always interesting…. We can’t resist giving each other more crap than any one man deserves. But that’s the game with these knobs. Ripping on each other gives us entertainment and no one in the group is exempt. Its our own way of showing the love via abuse. Tough love huh?
As I think about these knobs it’s interesting how we all started hanging with each other:
- Tater, Doug and I have worked together in the past.
- Sammy used to be a customer of mine 12 years ago back in Kansas.
- Sande used to be Tater’s customer.
These are some of the best friends I’ve have ever had. While its not "manly" to talk about this type of crap I know that each of these guys have my back and will be there if and when I need them. They each have very different approaches and views of life.
- Max is our only Democrat and grew up in Hawaii as a surfer dude. He's a health nut.
- Sande is the only one that has served and currently serves our country in the Army. (Thanks Sande) He grew up in a small town in the great state of Texas.
- Sammy is our only cancer survivor and a hell of a fishermen.
- Tater is our Party Chairman. He gets us all together and plays Switzerland. He's also a hell of an elk hunter and has brought that to Sande and I.
These are great guys and I consider myself a very lucky man to call each of them my friend.
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