River Friends, Are A Treasure To Me.

 The trip home for my physical took most of the day. Five hours on the road, an hour and a half at the doctors office, lunch with an old friend at Ruston's Diner, (cholesterol capital of the world), and the fixing of a loose wire in the outlet that was powering our internet, TV, and phones. 

Arrived back (in Deposit) at 4:00pm. A drive up and down the river told me that whatever had been happening was no longer happening. Decided to save my energy for what is now the apex of the fishing day, (7:00pm until you just can't see a damn thing), (which is now a little after nine).

Made another tactical error, second in two days, if anyone is keeping track. Selected a pool that is just full of fish, (trust me I know), however, the sun sets on this pool much like it does just above the upper game lands, (never), there are hills and valleys along the Delaware and I'm sure anyone who has fished the upper game lands knows the sun sets this time of year in the exact bottom of a V shaped valley. Same where I wanted to fish tonight. At 8:00pm it was still shining on the water, with nary a bug hatching nor rising fish to be seen.

I contemplated heading for one of the places I knew would have been in the shade by 6:30, but it was a long day and I was just plain tired, so I waited, the bugs came, LOTS of them, the fish went nuts, LOTS of them, and I threw at them, Lots of times. (Mrs. Haskins, forgive me for that one).  Hooked four fish, landed three and lost one, while a couple of dozen fish paid absolutely no attention to the flies I threw.

The toads were singing their hearts out, the moon was beautiful, and I was happily walking out the dirt road to my car when a car sped down the road, stopped with the window rolled down and a guy told me it was a private road, (the same road  he told me to go to three years ago in lieu of the steep bank I was descending), I had set off alarms, fishermen didn't fish after dark, I could have drowned or been eaten by a bear, did I have a cell phone to call someone if I was hurt, and would I like a ride to my car? It was Steve, who built stairs for me to get down a steep bank where I fish, and who worries (for a gruff NJ guy in the construction business), far too much, but cares about everyone, (I suspect his wife knows this). Thanks Steve, for being you.

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