Once in a while you just have to clear the decks and give yourself a mental health day.
I have been on the road a lot this summer, and this summer has been a hot one with not a lot of great days on the water in the last month.
Last week was a busy one at my day job, and I did a lot of writing for the web which actually puts a few extra dollars in our pockets. I was pretty worn out by the weekend since the heat and humidity seem to take an extra toll.
Finally on Labor Day some cool weather settled across the Southern Outer Banks. Our oldest daughter had driven in late Sunday night after visiting her sister and our grand daughter, the newest addition to the family.
She wanted to go for a boat ride on Labor Day. Usually I would not consider putting the boat in the water on a holiday, but I relented for my daughter who had driven a lot of miles to get to us. We did a quick ride down to Swansboro and sure enough the Intracoastal was plugged with traffic. Still it was enough time on the water for my daughter, and it convinced me that I needed to take some time and enjoy the water.
That night I called my good friend Dean, and asked him if he wanted to go fishing. Of course no arm twisting was required, but he could not go until afternoon when his job was finished for the day.
It worked out pretty well with the tides so we made a date. The boat was pretty well ready so all I had to do was pick up some ice and bait. I had already made up my mind that nothing was going to stand in the way of going fishing the day after Labor Day. I willed my cellphone to not ring.
About 1PM we dropped the boat in the water and headed off down the White Oak River to Swansboro. We had decided to fish the marshes on the south side of the Intracoastal. It was always one of my favorite spots. We carefully eased our way into the channel on the south side of the Intracoastal until we found a good place to anchor.
It wasn't long before I hooked a fish. In fact I caught fish on three straight casts. Catching fish is a lot of fun, and I had fun. I caught a nice Black Sea Bass and a keeper size Trout.
Where we were fishing was flat out gorgeous. There were no other boats around until someone saw us catching fish and anchored not far from us. After a while we decided to go fishing on the White Oak River between Swansboro and our home dock.
We caught a couple of pinfish at the first place we stopped. We moved on to a deeper hole, but didn't have any luck. While we fishing I had been watching a boat slowly make its way down the river from Stella.
Just as we were getting ready to call it a day, the other boat hailed us and asked how to get to Swansboro. I explained to him the red and green buoys, and off he went. I immediately noticed he was headed in the wrong direction.
Fortunately we had been drift fishing so we caught up with him easily and told him to follow us to Swansboro. We made the ten minute run to Swansboro with the other boat not far behind us.
After we took him under the bridge, he slowed to say thanks. He also said he would have never figured it out by himself. That got me to thinking. A year ago and extra trip on the White Oak would have been anything but relaxing for me. This year it was just plain fun.
We headed back up river and made it back to our home dock in about ten minutes. Just as I was tying up the boat up my wife called. She said it was five pm and well past time for us to be home. I told her we were stuck on an oyster rock in the White Oak. In the next breath I told here we were on the lift, and she could come help unload the boat.
After spraying down the boat, I cleaned the fish and put away he rest of the gear. We made plans to perhaps do another run tomorrow.
Glenda and I went inside, watched a little news and then headed off to find dinner.
Our dinner was splitting a fine California Cheese Steak at Trattoria.
Reflecting back on the day, I have to say that being out on the water on such a beautiful day is a great way to regain your balance. I feel human again. Maybe the worries only got pushed into the background for a few hours, but it was enough to restore my smile.
There were plenty of things I could have been worrying about, but I chose to go fishing and worry about catching fish. Sometimes you have to put yourself first so you can be in shape to help others when the time comes.
It was a great day, and I certainly don't regret it.
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