A Ruthless Weekend

Some weekends are shit-shows. This weekend was just that

So, I’m in grad school and don’t see my close friends nearly as much as I used to. The same can be said about how much I fly fish. When we get together, things easily get crazy. To be fare, this happens regardless of how often we hang out. We continuously joke that it’s good we live far away from each other. Otherwise, our lives would involve unending amounts of alcohol and wasted talent. But, I digress…

Living in the lovely city of Norfolk, Va it was time I hit the salt. My bestest buddy, JB, made the trip down from Philly on a nice Friday afternoon. We played golf, drank, ate dinner, drank, went to a bar and drank, went to Virginia Beach and drank, and drank some more. The next day we felt glorious…

Looking pretty for the camera

We booked an afternoon trip with Cory Routh of Ruthless Outdoor Adventures for 12 PM. Unfortunately for Mr. Routh, the amount of alcohol I consumed the evening before made me believe our adventure began at 1 PM. We were only fifteen minutes late. That is, we showed up at 1:15 PM. Man, I’m an ass sometimes! Sorry, Cory. The worst part? I didn’t even realize it until the next day when I checked the email. Fuck!

JB with a friendly release

Both JB and I still possessed a decent amount of alcohol in our systems when we met Cory. He was very cool about it and paid little attention to our extreme tardiness. We battled the wind for a while until we reached a sheltered section of water. We drifted here for a while with action every now and again. However, we soon hopped out on a little sand bar to catch a nice outgoing tide running through a channel. Money spot! We all landed a few nice fishies and as my hangover became overpowering, the joy of catching fish raised my spirits.

A beaut of a red made my day for certain. My  many attempts to catch red fish before this – which I wrote about here – all ended in vain. So, finally landing one brought new light to my blood-shot eyes.

Cory certainly played the guide role well. He put up with our late arrival, moaning cries of self-pity, and lack of interesting conversation all the while seemingly enjoying our company. Additionally, he knows the area very well. An avid outdoorsman and a cool person, I don’t see how you could not get along with this gentleman. If you’re in the area, check him out.

Go home now. Live a happy life and don’t let the little things trouble you

After the fishing, JB and I thanked Cory for the great time. Then, we tried to figure out our lives. That part never really works… Making our way back to Norfolk, we dined over fish tacos and beer, then capped the night off with a lovely backyard fire at a friend’s.

Sunday, my sole purpose in life was to get rid of my headache and try to plan for the week ahead… I managed one of the two. Which one? I don’t remember.

“You will never see more reverence than a Fly-angler releasing a fish” – Cory Routh

*All photos were taken by Cory Routh and used with his permission