I had not seen Mike in 10 years. Then he was a mountain of a man, and I was in much better shape.
I’d pulled up to Raynolds’ Bridge last week to fish. There he was trying to maneuver his bulk over the snowbank and down to the river. He did not notice me park and approach. I watched him struggle with his snowshoes that were not working as he broke thru the stiff snow up to his waist. I knew he was not going to make it to the river.
Mike was laying on his side in the deep snow, like a beached whale, after crawling 5 yards from his car. I yelled to him I was on my way to help as I pulled on my snowshoes. After pulling him to his feet and catching-up a bit on the past 10 years I told Mike to get into my shoes. Mike told me he, “just wanted to fish the river once this winter”, and “knew this might be my last time to do it”. Mike is 80 and has had some heart issues. I was determined to get him on a favorite midge pool, perhaps for his last time.
I beat a path, sans snowshoes, for him to follow upstream a hundred yards to his spot then returned to pull-push and drag Mike to the pool where fish were rising like wolves to emerging midges.
Half-hour later we stood on a high snowbank above the pool. I had Mike sit while I slid down the bank and into the river where I removed my snowshoes from Mike, then helped him slide down to the water using me as his wading staff. Mike tried one of my #20 Griffiths Gnat Emergers while I stood by as a staff, and his eyes, yelling “set” when a fish came to his fly.
Mike landed 4 rainbows in an hour while we had a chance to visit about fishing, family and the years gone by we’d not seen each other. It was great fun but once the wind came up and temperatures dropped it was time to bring Mike back to his rig. Forty-seven minutes later with lots of huffing and puffing, pushing-pulling and giving a hand up when he fell down into the deep snow, we stood at his vehicle. Both of us sporting big smiles and vowing to do it again soon, both knowing it was not going to happen.
I had a wonderful time that day fishing even though I never threw a cast. I love this place, and old friends too.