Blue Moon

I spent the last two days of August fishing at Homeshore this year. It used to be the place to go from mid-August to September for cohos. Some years back it was fairly common to see fifty to a hundred boats dragging the area. Usually boats that came in from the outside would pass through, maybe spend a few days and then head on home. This year though the fish haven't shown up on the inside. I don't know where they are. When I went over there, I was the only troller along the whole shoreline. It should have been an indication that there weren't any fish around, but for some reason in the back of my mind I'm always thinking that, wouldn't it be great if there were cohos jumping all over and I was catching them as fast as I could pull them in and there was no one else around to get in my way. Of course it would be great if I was six foot two, ruggedly handsome, wealthy and always lived the golden rule too. Anyway, I fished all day for eleven fish and decided to anchor up right there at Homeshore. It's a lousy place to anchor unless the wind is coming from the east or right out of the north. As it was, it was blowing from the northwest, but not too bad. I found a little niche that gives some protection from the wind and set the pick. It didn't take long for the wind to switch to a more westerly direction so it blew right in on me. Go figure. Some guys like that rocking motion- they say it helps them sleep. Not me. Every noisy, loose thing that can roll, rattle, shake, jar, creak or moan will make itself readily apparent when the boat is rocking. I don't sleep all that well anyway, so I like a nice, quiet, secluded anchorage where the boat stays still and I feel secure. As they say, people in hell want ice water too.  Since there isn't anything to do after I anchor up, I usually work on a crossword puzzle before I go down below to the rack. I buy the easy ones because I don't want to further damage my self esteem by looking stupid as well as incompetent as a fisherman. After I've got one done or mostly done, I usually go down to bed and read for awhile. When I was ready to settle in for the night I got up to turn off the radio and was startled to see a brilliant white light filling the cabin. Holy Toledo! Had Jesus come and I wasn't ready? Kind of late to repent at the last minute. I was hoping I didn't swear when I saw that light- don't want to add fuel to the fire. I looked out the window and saw the biggest, most brilliant white full moon shining down. It was breathtaking. I heard later that it was a blue moon. the second full moon in a month. In the morning when I got up it was still visible as it was going down over the mountains. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pictures. The news is coming on so I need to wrap this up. I guess I have to go in and expose myself to countless hours of recounting what each political party has spoken. God forbid that there should be any real news on.