Salmon Fishing..."It's Easy" (by Chad E. Boyd)

Prologue:
We moved to Seattle when I was 9 years old. Soon after the Boyd family's arrival to the Puget Sound area, my father decided that he would become a salmon fisherman. This by default meant that I would also become a salmon fisherman. So many, many, many weekends I could be found cold, wet, half asleep, and fishless in the Puget Sound with my Dad at the helm of our little fishing boat. Fast forward 20 or so years, and you find me telling my eldest boy that we are about to catch the biggest fish he has ever seen! You see, I had been reading on the internet how the Pink salmon run was in full swing and limits of salmon were practically being handed out at the dock. I have chased my share of salmon as an adult, but I have never even tried to catch a Pink salmon. But really ...how hard can it be? The mark of a fisherman must truly be that we just never learn………

4:10 AM, Saturday Morning; Boyd Residence:
I tiptoe into Cole’s room and gently nudge him. He starts to just roll over and ignore me. I say, "Cole, Cole, do you want to go fishing?" His eyes snap open and he quickly descends from the top bunk while telling me how he’s soooo excited. My chest swells with pride at his excitement. The plan is going perfectly so far…….

5:00 AM, Saturday Morning; Park & Ride in Federal Way:
Uncle Darin pulls up with the boat. Cole has finished his muffin and red Gatorade for breakfast. He has been telling me over and over how he is going to net a salmon and catch a salmon. "It's easy," he tells me. He also tells me that he recently caught a poisonous frog, but the poison had no effect on him (you have to know Cole on this one). Again all is going to plan…….

5:45 AM, Saturday Morning; Redondo Boat Launch:
Uncle Darin backs the boat down the ramp like a pro (nice work). I pull the boat off the trailer and go motor out a ways to wait for him to park the truck, and for Cole and Darin to jump in. After a few minutes here they come and Cole has found a fishing pole. The pole is one that someone had broken in half and left in the garbage, but Cole felt it was a magnificent find. Life is good, the boat's in the water, and hey, Cole found a fishing pole. This just gets better and better…….

6:45 AM, Saturday Morning; Puget Sound:
The poles are in the water and it’s starting to get good and light outside. The rain is coming down pretty good, but that can’t squelch our spirits. No fish in the boat yet but the flood gates are about to open for sure. After all, salmon fishing is easy........

7:45 AM, Saturday Morning; Puget Sound:
The rain is now pouring down in buckets. Cole has stopped believing that the fish are going to bite at any moment. He is now curled up in the fetal position in the front of the boat. Uncle Darin’s back up rain suit is his bed and I donated my sweet Rivers West jacket as the comforter. I’m hoping that he is asleep so it will buy me some time to turn this nightmare around……

8:15 AM, Saturday Morning; SAME stretch of the Puget Sound:
Cole has now requested on several occasions that he would like to go home. He has made these requests without taking his head out from underneath my jacket because he doesn’t want the rain to get on his face. We have seen several fish landed, but not so much as a nibble on our lines. After spending the morning trolling around, Darin notices that most people are not trolling but just drifting in their boats and casting a lure called a Buzz Bomb. We change tactics and join the crowd. Cole is approaching critical mass and I’m thinking how did this all go so wrong? It was such a sure thing……

8:20 AM, Saturday Morning; THE SAME stretch of the Puget Sound:
“Cole, we will head back in just a few minutes if we don’t get a fish.” That is the fourth time I have said that since 8:15. I’m casting this 2 ½ hot pink Buzz Bomb like my life depends on it, knowing that we have just come full circle; we're cold, wet, half asleep, and fishless once again.

8:21 AM, Saturday Morning; I think you know:
What's the deal? I’m reeling and reeling, and pulling back on this pole and getting nowhere. Then it hits me. Can it be? There is actually a fish on the end of the line. FISH ON! Cole immediately springs to his feet and begins coaching me through the basics of landing a salmon. A few tense minutes later and the curse is broken! We have a salmon in the boat, the rain stops, the birds are singing, etc.

9:30 AM, Saturday Morning; the best fishing spot ever!
8 salmon in the boat, Cole has netted a few and his spirits are high. The rainy, long morning is long forgotten and everyone in the boat is happy. A great day salmon fishing...it really is so easy!