Small Fish : Big Mental Breaks

On a recent family trip to the Bighorn mountains, my wife and I managed to get our two little girls and our dog away from the crowds, to do a little fishing. Its true of every once great recreation area or destination, once the decision is made to turn less accessible dirt road into an improved gravel road, things turn into washboard highways with tons of out of state drivers driving way to fast.

We opted to pull off a road and walk a little to get to a stream. The water was fast moving, casting was made more difficult by all the vegetation along the banks and mature overhanging trees, but my Tenkara rods never disappoint me. While the trout were small, fast moving water and the lively nature of wild mountain stream fish make them a fun experience.

I never caught a fish over 10 inches, but the the most important part of fishing on our trip wasn’t the fish. It’s been a while since I’ve had an opportunity to produce content for Sportsman’s Magazine, and I rarely document what adventure I am on when I am on it because it just takes more time and often detracts from the enjoyment. Work on our small farm, regular programming work, and two young children have kept me plenty busy. While our short camping trip to the bighorns was primarily for a music performance at a brewery, and spending time with out our girls, the intense heat meant only higher elevations were enjoyable during most of the day. So cooling off and getting some fishing in, while the girls picked bouquets, not only offered immediate relief form heat, it gave me a much needed mental break from the regular rigors of life. Unlike the fish I caught, that turned out to be huge, and much needed.