Autumn at its Finest

What felt like minutes after closing my eyes for the night, my alarm clock bellowed its most unpleasant tune at 4:00 am, yet I was unusually alert.

The world was still asleep, yet conversation was alive with excitement and anticipation as we drove through the remaining hours of night.

We arrived at one of the most magnificent rivers in Western New York and found that vehicles from Pennsylvania, and New Jersey had preceded us. We did not meet this with disdain, but with admiration at their obvious love of this great pastime.

We stood streamside in the pre-dawn twilight and listened to the most pleasant sound of the flowing river, and nothing else. As the sun peered over its lowest reaches of the horizon, we made our first casts. Frost, frozen guides, and numb fingers dissipated as the warmth of one of the most pleasant days of autumn carried on.
> Our finned friends remained extremely finnicky throughout the morning and mid-day, but as the day wore on and the crowds began to thin, they rewarded us for staying around just a bit longer.


It was one of those days that I wished would last a couple. There are few things finer than a beautiful autumn day on the river with friends. The drive home was filled with stories from the day and plans to do it all over again soon.

I certainly look forward to it.