Revive - A Quarterly Fly Fishing Journal (Volume 1. Issue 1 summer 2013) | Page 14

I’ll never forget his breathing….labored, strained, intense. I yearn

for it. I crave it. I dream about. Chasing it down has cost me

thousands of dollars, countless “sick days” from work, and any

hope at all of being a normal, productive member of society. Let

me backtrack…Au Sable River, June 2012, at the end of a 16 mile

ten hour marathon streamer run. I’m holding a steelhead sized

landing net in one hand while attempting to steer the boat around

numerous rocks and logjams. My good friend, Jeff, is battling the

largest trout either of us has ever seen. Not a word is spoken…the only sound is the breathing of a guy trying not to lose his

lunch and me trying to stay out of his way. A few tense minutes

later, as the mammoth fish slides into the net, celebration

ensues. Photos were taken, beers were cracked, laughs were had,

and memories were made.