North 40 Fly Shop eMagazine December 2016 | Page 44

GRANDE RENDEZVOUS
STORY BY: WAYNE JORDAN

For the past few years a group of my friends have
invited me to fish with them on the Grande Ronde.
Each year something would come up in my life that
would prevent me from going. Life has a funny way
of doing that, especially when you have a career
and a family. This year was a down to the wire nailbiter too with work, a pregnant wife, and being in
the process of buying a home. Having been with my
wife for 15 years, she knows that look in my eyes
when I have my mind set on doing something. I was
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determined to make this trip happen!
The last thing I did before leaving the store was to
turn my “out of office” email notification on and
thank Mark for covering the rest of my shift in the
shop. He probably noticed that look in my eyes too.
On the way home, I stopped at the grocery store
to buy essentials for a fishing trip with the guys,
which mostly centered on IPA and meat products. I
almost forgot the mustard, while making a mental