On the Edges of a Day Afield...

4am.  Yes, really...4am

You look at the alarm clock for a second to realize this isnt joke, you've got a purpose for getting up at this crazy hour.

Creep through the house doing your damnedest to be "quite".  Rod tubes slamming on the ground from their perch on the wall arent exactly what your aiming for.  Utter a quick prayer to god that you havent woke up your 1 year old son cause if you do, you know there's hell to pay.

Strike up some fresh coffee, load up the truck, check your gear 13 times (dont worry, forgetting something is just part of the process) and hit the road.

When the streetlights are still flashing yellow on the way to pick up your fishing partner, you know you're officially on the edge of the day.

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I find that there's something really special to the routine to the beginning and end of a day out.  Everyone's got their process before the step a boot into a field or a river.   Gear set  out the night before and obsessively check for missing items.  Roll out and go pick up your fishing buddy and speak monosyllabically untill the coffee kicks in.

Finally the day is cresting into view and the conversation grows in the anticipation. 
"Remember the time when" stories build in a crescendo till you finally throw the truck in park and go about the business of assembling gear into battle mode.

Finally, you're day has begun

For every yin, there's the yang.  After the last cast begins the second edge of the day.  Rod breakdown and a collective declaration of the day's success, good or bad.  You go through the routine of the last beer and it's windshield time.  Usually, a lot of windshield time.

The where and what gut-bomb are you going to eat begin to be the big questions of the return trip.  Push the limit a bit on the speed to try and get home at a respectable hour.   Make sure to call the loved ones to let them know that it's time for the boyfriend to get out of the house by such and such time.  You know, got to keep it on the up and up with the better half right, haha.

There's nothing better than the satisfied feeling of a great day out and countless hours are spent rehashing the glory and defeat of the day.  It's the stories and pictures that will stay with us the longest.

Then most of the time your fishing partner gets quiet and starts snoring.  Lucky bastard you think to yourself.  The mind drifts to what you've left behind and what's upcoming but everything's alright because the day was awesome

Finally, you're back in the same place you left.  Starring at the windshield, a very happy person on the edge of a day afield.