th'east

after leaving austin, i found myself in a traffic jam outside of Shreveport, the first i'd seen since i drove out west, i guess. this turned out to be a pretty bad one and i found myself sitting on i-20 east for three and a half hours. i got out of my car and walked up and down the highway for a little bit, trying to assess the scene. i gathered a little information about the jam and as i walked back toward my car, several people asked me if i knew anything about what was going on. i passed on what i had learned and heard a number of mixed responses and phrases, not many of which i had heard before. one trucker, as i walked by said, "i'd be walkin' home too!" i said that i would then be walking to Maine and he laughed loudly. at a gas station in Jackson, i came back to my car after paying for the gas and a man was staring at the back of my car, presumably looking at the license plate the bumper stickers. "what d'ya think?" i asked. he chuckled and asked me what i was doing down there and then asked how any miles i had on the Subaru. when i told him, he smiled and said, "i hope my wife's gets that many!" ha.

made it to Atlanta on tuesday and made some new friends. made it to Anderson, SC on wednesday and was welcomed by the best homecooked meal i've had in a while. yesterday Boone and i drove to Cashiers, NC and we've been fishing since.

yesterday was my first day on the water in a little over a week. i was excited and confident. we stepped into the Tuck River with hopes and spirits high. water was low and Boone landed a chub within minutes after arrival. i did the same a few minutes later and we continued upstream. Boone picked up a few here and there and i was still yet to land a trout. i lost one, spooked some others as we continued upstream. we decided to change spots after a couple hours and drove upstream. Boone landed a three pound rainbow after a few minutes and we were happy. a little while later and i was frustrated. i smelled of skunk and it had been a long time since i smelled that bad of it.

i was fishing a run that i just felt there were fish in. if there wasn't a fish in this run, then i wouldn't have known where else to look. and then, finally, the indicator went down and i set the hook on a fish i instantly knew was big. big head shakes came and it went across the stream in front of me, 15 feet to the right and then 30 feet to the left. and then it was over. hook popped out. i crouched in the river, my hands scratching my head. i'm assuming some expletive(s) exited my mouth. that was the last fish i hooked that day and i got skunked. ooooh, did it hurt. it's been a while since i wanted a fish back so badly. how big was it? who knows. big. big enough to not want to lose. add that to the stench of a skunk that had been brewing since spring and there you have it.

today i did some catching. caught some trout! nice ones! so did Boone. maybe we'll catch some more tomorrow! what's next? redfish, albies, steelhead and landlockeds! see ya there!