[blumpkin]

Is it still for sale...

[chadroc]

Is it still for sale...

not to you. you get it free.

[Spicytuna]

I knew you were my type of peeps!

camper.jpg

Great stories, great thread. That feeling after 3 or 5 days of camping wanting to go home and wanting to stay just the same is truly unique. Used to get that a lot driving cross country. Couldn't wait to get there but didn't want the trip to end. Good stuff dude.

2-1 he gets all sappy and keeps the damn thing. I sure hope so...

What ever happened to our MacGuyver thread this would fit right in.

Great trip man, hopefully I can nail down some family and friends for something like that out here.

Pretty damn awesome man

[Bruiser]

I will read the rest later but this thread is killer!

Also a productivity killer for me today.

[Woolybug25]

This thread is magnificent.

[chadroc]

been a while. 23 years to be exact. still doing my best on the annual campout. rewind the tape and play the whole thing backwards. with the sound completely turned off.

things simplify, then complicate, then simplify. i got back in a tent. fuck the starcraft. gave it to my buddy steve. he turned it into a portable outdoor bar.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2027%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%201/80B20592-7D7A-4427-9383-70E2978D0F20_zpsnq6ydwps.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2027%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%201/B75F11D1-8D27-494C-A976-F0339B91C6CE_zpsdkfzkp8e.jpg[/img]



i said give it back. he said no. squatters rights?



so i went back to camping. i ain't never missed a fishcamp but last year i didn't stay overnight. just visited and fished. no planning, no weeks of planning, no planning at all. grab rods, grab some beer, go. but not this year. i took my little tent, did little planning, made a little camp. i didn't take my customary solo thursday, but i showed up early friday morning to get going.



f that bathroom on the way in.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2027%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%201/AB73E6DA-2AE1-46E2-BC65-61878A5A80A0_zpsbwdvdyym.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2027%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%201/P4270429_zpsibidkxwj.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2027%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%201/P4270433_zpsd8r28tx0.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2027%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%201/P4270434_zpschgdlsrh.jpg[/img]



then, naturally since i didn't have no starcraft to cozy up inside, it began to pour rain. no nap for me. mights well fish.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2027%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%201/06AA9977-4153-4717-9B3D-C6E4DEF7322F_zpsbfvw4x8g.jpg[/img]



tarped the fuck outta my camp. got some stockies.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2027%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%201/P4270435_zps59rbxsjx.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2027%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%201/P4270454_zps703wmrzi.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2027%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%201/P4270457_zps165l3lx1.jpg[/img]



my friends all started showing up. since the rain was due to clear, everybody just went fishing in the rain and waited it out.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2027%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%201/P4270459_zpse7oif2uk.jpg[/img]



started to prep food for breakfasts. no ham this year, went with a shitload of sausages.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2027%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%201/0BF555AF-4AE6-4B5E-94EB-065DE52BB7DB_zpsphd9c59x.jpg[/img]



dark fell, i put the ace heater in my little tent, and we sat around and got lit up like christmas trees. it was nice. for the first time in a decade i wasn't tortured by bad memories of my old man dying on this campout. i found it true what everyone had told me, that it eventually gets better. that eventually, your left with the good memories and the divergent equity of memory will place the onus of it on the good side. for this, this year, i was deeply grateful.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2027%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%201/P4270469_zpsl7qp4vbr.jpg[/img]



we laughed and laughed.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2027%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%201/P4270483_zpswi94v7c0.jpg[/img]



these are real men. doing real things. like chopping firewood.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2027%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%201/26296507-601A-41CE-A62C-4AF3C2D65F46_zps0xea6ljo.jpg[/img]



and eating tomorrows breakfast.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2027%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%201/P4270472_zpsuezk37bf.jpg[/img]



and passing out.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2027%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%201/FD02C692-68B9-4C5D-ACEC-782A641F3D9B_zps3bsac4xy.jpg[/img]



i crawled into my tarp covered lair and it was a little balmy. i shut that shit off, and bedded down as the inside of the tent cooled. i read one page of the book i brought. and then i slept the sleep of a tired boy who had been doing real man things all day, blessings. which just feels so good on your wet and weary bones. i had to be up early the next day, for the little league opening day ceremony and my squads first games. long live the fishcamp. day 2 to follow.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2027%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%201/P4270461_zpsqbcxwwkl.jpg[/img]

[chadroc]

i got to the field nice and early. squad decked out this year in hartford whalers colors. a strong group of ball players. my kid is spitting all over the field. i go, what you doing buddy? he says, dad, i'm a ball player. play on playa. will you still need me, when i get weird? give me time, when time is drawing near?



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2028%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%202/P4280492_zps7qlpz9cq.jpg[/img]



my boy making plays. among the youngest on my squad, playing up, hits laser beams, calls himself the muddy chicken. is joyful when playing. plays well. is humble, but aware that he hits laser beams. just a great kid. my 3 hitter for years to come. refuses haircuts. sweats like daddy.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2028%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%202/P4280524_zpsq6cgyuyy.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2028%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%202/P4280494_zpsz49ae6wc.jpg[/img]



i dumped em with mom, hightailed it back to the camp. bought some wood. token kindness and crazy expensive, but hey......the rug really ties the room together.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2028%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%202/P4280529_zpszekb29ah.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2028%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%202/P4280532_zpscgv8e6qy.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2028%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%202/P4280534_zpsamesarl3.jpg[/img]



caught some stockies. fished euro, shoulda fished dry flies.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2028%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%202/P4280526_zpsicugtm35.jpg[/img]



without the initial solo thursday, the camp is really condensed down. when i got back, everyone was already preparing for the fish fry. my #2 meal of the year, or maybe #1. thanksgiving and fishcamp. hard to decide.....



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2028%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%202/P4280535_zpszxccctun.jpg[/img]



stockie sticks.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2028%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%202/P4280537_zpsaqg3sdus.jpg[/img]



uncle jim approved.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2028%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%202/P4280539_zpsr0flpsaj.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2028%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%202/P4280546_zpsk8eabgub.jpg[/img]



thousand yard stare of the 20+ year veterans. when these 2 with me started coming to our camp they were young. just barely teenagers. now we all got our own families and crap. what a wonderful touchstone these camps become for us.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2028%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%202/P4280545_zps2igttz5q.jpg[/img]



we ate the fuck outta that meal.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2028%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%202/P4280552_zpsfwjdjb9x.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2028%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%202/P4280553_zpsrb3rh74s.jpg[/img]



saturday night is more or less a slower night than friday. we're sorta tired. we're relaxing and sipping rather than pounding.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2028%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%202/P4280551_zpsdbdlzv87.jpg[/img]



and it goes nice and slow. we talk about old fish. caught and lost. we talk about old girls, caught and lost. we talk about old times. we chuckle saturday more than belly laugh. but we all just feel good. somebody deep fried oreos. perfect. goes well with busch beer.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2028%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%202/P4280564_zpsjfykc3t9.jpg[/img]



and the moon is on the natchaug river. and camp, its already over. see? it wasn't that bad. and hell if i was gonna go home before really getting some fishing done on day 3.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2028%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%202/P4280563_zpstn3uaw31.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2028%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%202/P4280565_zps4kdcgobz.jpg[/img]

[chadroc]

so another year! we wake, and are fine. do you realize? that happiness makes you cry? do you realize? that everyone, you know, someday will die? instead of saying all your goodbyes, best let them know you realize that life goes fast its hard to make the good things last, you realize the sun don't go down, its just an illusion caused by the world, spinning round.



we make coffee.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290573_zpsvnntnnai.jpg[/img]



we eat the rest of the sausages.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290588_zpsxyfr636h.jpg[/img]



the bag uselessly nymphs an uncooperative river.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290578_zpsfdatych7.jpg[/img]



folks start pulling up stakes and heading out. i do too. packing is easier with no planning done on a campout. i didn't forget anything crucial. i packed tight and left the rods out to fish cleaner water for wilder fish. the natchaug hilton pulls out and i say goodbye to ronnie and mike, two great folk.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290599_zpsao1fjlz7.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290596_zpsxwbkrlvr.jpg[/img]



my brother sonny gets the last trout of camp. a brookie trout corpse is presented about the stragglers. its all gone. and i'm planning for next year already.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290603_zps00selvgq.jpg[/img]



and it starts raining again. such is life.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/E35B560D-869F-4044-88CB-DE8D4107B768_zpslep9wtw9.jpg[/img]



another finger. another year. and i'm not towing behind me all that non road legal baggage.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/D8902DCE-D978-45B9-BA47-9A169AFD9B1F_zpsxevqnmbr.jpg[/img]



do you realize?



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290610_zpszoxqowfv.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290611_zpslnrrxjh3.jpg[/img]



not done just yet. lets fish some of my favorite water.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290653_zpstzllnrt4.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290655_zpsvh6q4iob.jpg[/img]



still not fishing dries. not sure why.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290632_zpsve5b4mvl.jpg[/img]



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[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290620_zpsr8athgpe.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290646_zpsjyrv4zzh.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290649_zps4zsnmd0v.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290651_zpsz1rlyank.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290660_zpscukbux2n.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290666_zpsgzfc8rph.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290671_zpsgc7q74tr.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290672_zpsymgvfdip.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290682_zpsjwghpfbr.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290686_zpseune3elo.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290690_zpssepbdakt.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290695_zpsvkcdzkns.jpg[/img]



and when satisfied. i sat down on the bank for a few minutes, before going home. and i reflected on the last ride of the starcraft. and i felt grateful for realizing.



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290700_zpsneydu1pv.jpg[/img]



[img]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/chadroc/april%2029%202018%20fishcamp%2023%20day%203/P4290698_zps1f8edzek.jpg[/img]



till next year, friends. to starcrafts. to fishcamp. pour a sip for my old man, been ten years since i spoke to him. each day, the new longest time since i've spoken to you. but i'm trying to talk to you every day. do you realize?

[yard4sale]

Well, yeah. That looks like one hell of a weekend.

[fatman]

[Honyuk96]

Good shit man, dig your threads !

[blumpkin]

That was awesome dude, thanks for the text.