09-23 REELLIFE digital - Flipbook - Page 16
when
seconds
count
Whoo-hoo, this month I drew the
coveted Writer's Choice card. I had
planned to write a piece on late
season Puget Sound chinook. A
solid plan in place, but then came
along the latest WDFW Fishing
Rule Change, closing Marine
Area 10 to chinook fishing. It’s
an unfortunate situation where
the current estimate for chinook
sublegal encounters for the
summer fishery is at 122% of the
agreed fisheries. The truly difficult
part of the MA 10 closure is that
MA 10 chinook catch rate typically
peaks in mid-August.
I considered shifting the content
and discussing areas that are
open year-round or other late
season opportunities to bag a
chinook in Puget Sound. After
some internal debate over a
concern that I would be shifting
the chinook effort from the now
closed MA 7, 9, 10 and 11 to the
few remaining chinook fisheries,
I thought better of the idea.
Normally I am more than willing
to share information; but in this
case the remaining fisheries really
can’t handle the potential for
increased fishing pressure. I’d be
16 | NWFISHING.net
“Blowing Up” our few remaining
opportunities. It’s a shame
though, some of my best days on
the water and/or biggest Puget
Sound chinook were caught
August through September. I love
writing about chinook fishing and
the decision was a real dilemma
for me. Dilemma or otherwise,
in late July things changed and I
decided to refocus my article.
This has been a summer
of changes around the old
homestead. We have had
and continue to have multiple
remodeling projects in work,
we moved my mother-in-law
in and with few exceptions I’ve
been working 6 days a week.
Not complaining, all the right
thing to do. And then to be
honest I absolutely love my job
and kind of go through some
form of withdrawals when I’m
not working… With the hectic
schedule and lack of fishing
(neither one of my boats have
been off the trailer since May and
then January before that) I was
kind of evaluating life and sorting
through what’s important or
otherwise. I was even considering
selling the boats.
Typically, we meet my fishing
buddy, his wife, and sometimes
other friends for a meal once a
week. Usually, we meet at Billy’s in
Burlington on Sunday mornings.
We’re regulars and they have one
of the best breakfasts in Skagit
County. On a Friday morning in
late July, I texted my fishing buddy
to confirm our Sunday plans and
he called me back to let me know
that his wife, our close friend, had
just had a stroke.
It was the last thing I ever
expected to hear. Being that
they are 20 years younger and in
generally good health, the news
was hard to comprehend. As
couples we have spent a lot of
time together; vacations, fishing,
and of course our weekly outing,
and nobody ever thought twice
about our individual health.
Instead of a fishing article I
decided to write a brief public
service piece.
A stroke is an interruption to the
blood supply to the brain. A stroke
is the result of an obstruction or
damage to the arteries in the
brain, such as a clot or aneurysm.
A stroke can occur at any age and
statistics show that 1 in 5 people