The Trip Starts Long Before You Leave

FIELD NOTE No. 011

Most people pack clothes first.

Fishermen pack hope.

Tackle boxes get reorganized.

Favorite soft plastics are sorted by color… clear water, cloudy skies, wind, glass.

Batteries get charged.

Every rod has a purpose long before a single shirt makes it into the duffel bag.

It’s easy to laugh at the ritual.

But every little task is a quiet vote of confidence.

The finesse box finds its place in the boat with the hopeful expectation that it never leaves the compartment.

Maybe tomorrow they’ll eat moving baits all day.

Maybe they’ll be deep.

Maybe we’ll find a topwater window just as the sun slips over the trees.

Maybe this isn’t a smallmouth trip at all.

Maybe it’s a walleye trip.

Maybe it’s just a camping trip with a boat.

Maybe the wind lays down.

Maybe the first cast tells you everything.

Maybe your son catches the fish he’ll still be talking about twenty years from now.

The truth is, we aren’t organizing tackle.

We’re organizing optimism.

Tomorrow we’re headed for the sand country of the 3rd coast, where clear water has a way of making every cast feel possible.

The possibilities are already packed.

— Esker