With such an incredible spring run of stripers, and given that striped bass are my favorite fish to target, I’m sure you can imagine that I have been pushing myself to get out there as often as humanly possible. This means splitting time between the surf and my kayak; it means going early in the morning, late at night and sometimes in the middle of the day. As is customary for the mobile angler, it also comes with parking in areas where the lines of legality might be blurred, just a little, tiny bit.
Yesterday morning, I woke up early at 3 a.m. This is a common thing for me during this juncture of the fishing season. I wasn’t planning to fish, but it would seem that I had thought about it enough that my brain programmed a wakeup call, without my consent. I listened through the open window… no birds and no wind. I knew it was early. I lifted my head and saw the numbers on the clock, 3:03. I closed my eyes and told myself that if I hadn’t fallen asleep by 3:45, I’d get up and fish. I closed my eyes and tried to discern the timing of high tide. Based on yesterday’s trip, I figured it would be around 5:15. Then I started mentally going through my gear, making sure I had everything in the truck or that I knew not to forget the things that weren’t. Before I knew it, I was tapping away on my phone, checking the wind, checking the forecast, confirming the tide; and in what seemed like an instant, it was 3:45 and – of course – I wasn’t asleep. So I slithered out of bed and off I went.
I pulled into the sandy parking spot and definitely saw the new “no parking, both sides” sign across the street. People have been parking in this spot for 20-plus years without issue so I ignored it. Quickly and quietly, I unloaded the kayak and packed it with all my gear and two rods. I slid into my bibs, locked the truck and tailgate and wheeled the heavy Old Town down the trail to the water. An absolutely incredible sunrise was tinting the sky flaming pink as I pushed off. The fishing was off the charts. No giant fish, but piles of 20- to 28-pound bass, towing me all over the place and keeping the adrenalin pumping. Best of all, I had the spot all to myself, it almost seemed surreal.
After the tide turned the bite tapered off… I looked at my phone and saw that, if I left right away, I could have a quick breakfast before starting my workday.
It’s quite a different experience loading the yak in a questionable parking spot when everyone is leaving for work! It always seems like each person slows down to look at me and half the time I feel convinced that they’re pulling out their phones to see if they can get me kicked out of there! I combat this by pretending to be so preoccupied that I’m not even aware of the staring and the deceleration. Just an oblivious, ‘happy-go-lucky’ guy loading up his gear, “nothing to see here!”
Right as I was cinching down the ratchet straps and making the final survey of the area to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything, one of those Volvo compact SUV’s rolled up slowly and then stopped. “Oh, heeerrreee we go!” I thought to myself as I pretended not to notice the woman and bee-lined for my driver’s side door.
I heard the window slide open and a voice squawked out, cutting through the morning air, “For what it’s worth…” she began. I filled in the blank in my head, [“You’re not supposed to park here!”] but instead she finished her phrase with the most refreshing words I could have dreamed of… “Have fun.”
“For what it’s worth, have fun.” There was something about the way her words were delivered that made them seem like more than just the passage of good will from one happy person to another. It seemed like the addition of “for what it’s worth” had deeper meaning. Like it meant something along the lines of “No matter what’s going on in your life and no matter what it is that brings you joy, do it, because that’s what life is really about.”
Maybe I’m putting too much thought into it. Maybe I’m projecting because that’s what I needed to hear. But whatever meaning was or wasn’t masked within her phrasing, it was a nice moment, one person wishing good will on another for no other reason than wanting the best for a stranger.
We need more of that.
