Dreaming of hunting...while fishing

I like to fish.

A lot.

But even though fishing is best this time of year, I can’t help but think it’s only a little more than two months until hunting season begins.

And I really like to hunt.

It seems only a short time ago that hunting season ended and seven months of waiting began. But the older I get the faster time flies. The once-interminable wait between seasons now hardly offers even enough time to dry my boots before I’m off again.

I’m not alone in this. I have friends who are also counting the days until hunting season.

But it’s not just limited to hunting. Ice fishermen tend to be among the most dedicated of anglers and I know some who are already talking about early ice.

June seems a bit early to be thinking of hard water, but who am I to criticize.

I hope there will be times in the coming weeks when the fishing is so good that I forget about hunting and can simply enjoy the moment. Fishing, however, is seldom so action-packed that there isn’t time to think about anything else

Hunting, on the other hand, especially on foot with dogs, rarely offers the moments of quiet reflection angling does. It’s not a relaxing sport, while fishing, quite literally, often puts me to sleep.

I’ll admit to the occasional nap when hunting big game, but I don’t remember ever dreaming about fishing while doing so. Instead, I usually dream about the warm bed I left hours ago.

I don’t want to be that guy who’s always anticipating what’s next and not living in the now, but that’s hard to do when you haven’t had a bite in an hour, the hum of the trolling motor is making it hard to stay awake, and you’d really rather shoot something.

Unfortunately, time passing quickly is a two-way street. Although the wait between seasons seems shorter, so too, seem the seasons themselves. My wife might think hunting season lasts too long, but I’m thoroughly convinced it gets shorter every year.

The wait is nearly over. It’s down to a couple of months now, but soon it will only be days until I can hunt again. In the meantime, I think I’ll go fishing. I hear it’s really good this time of year.

Parker Heinlein is at [email protected]