I'm Also Stoked About Trips With My Sons!

These are my sons, Chris (left) and Matt. I'm excited right now because I'm working on plans to go on fishing trips with each of them individually this year. Fishing trips like this are mostly a good excuse to spend time together without the distraction of home and work responsibilities. Private time together with my sons to share whatever needs to be shared. Time to get to know each other better as adults. I'm so stoked about this and will be posting updates as things come together.

The basics of both trips are coming together. The most likely logistics got established by the fact that Karen and I want to experience Fall in Western Montana (ref blog posted 01/24/09). Since Matt lives in NorIda (what Matt's wife, Heather, calls North Idaho) it will be really convenient to work in a trip with him in the Fall as part of the trip Karen and I want to take up thataway. Current plan is to spend three days with Matt in the Helena area in mid-September probably fishing the mighty Missouri as much as we can. At least one full-day guided fly-fishing float trip is in order as we're not familiar with that area. Having a guide for at least one day will give us a leg up on the how and where of successful fishing there.

That means the trip with Chris will be in the Spring, late May most likely but I need to guess when the rivers will get lower and clear up. The duration's not established yet. We've talked before about meeting half-way between here (Roseburg, OR) and his home (San Jose, CA) so the Quincy, CA area is a logical choice for that and other reasons. Since he's working he can get there reasonably quickly compared with anywhere in Oregon, which maximizes our time together. Also, it's an area where I've fished several times before so we won't be wasting time trying to figure out where and how to fish. This works out well also because that time of year is good fishing in the Quincy area. I will plan to arrive in the area at least a week before Chris arrives so I have time to scope out where the fish are getting active and would likely stay there a while longer following time with him for additional fishing/exploring on my own.

For both trips I'll be taking our trailer, both to save on lodging/meal expenses and for the camping experience it affords. Updates coming as things firm up.