I went out to the hazel wood,
Because a fire was in my head,
And cut and peeled a hazel wand,
And hooked a berry to a thread;
And when white moths were on the wing,
And moth-like stars were flickering out,
I dropped the berry in the stream,
And caught a little silver trout.
When I had laid it on the floor,
I went to blow the fire aflame,
But something rustled on the floor,
And someone called me by my name:
It had become a glimmering girl,
With apple blossom in her hair,
Who called me by my name and ran,
And faded through the brightening air.
Though I am old with wandering,
Through hollow lands and hilly lands,
I will find out where she has gone,
And kiss her lips and take her hands;
And walk among long dappled grass,
And pluck till time and times are done,
The silver apples of the moon,
The golden apples of the sun.
Yeats
The origin of Sixty Rivers
A year or so ago I read an article in the Grand Rapids Press about a retired couple endeavoring to play 61 rounds of golf in every state in 61 days, and just to make it interesting play all 50 states, the 10 Canadian provinces and Washington DC. It occurred to me that it would be helpful to set goals for the fishing adventures I had often dreamed of but never applied myself to accomplishing. As my sixtieth birthday approached, I began to ponder celebrating the auspicious occasion by fishing 60 rivers. Initially, the idea of 60 rivers in 60 days seemed to have a nice ring to it, although it sounded a lot like work. I settled on achieving the goal in one year, recording my experience in this blog so that family and friends could follow my adventure and occasionally give me a push when I fall behind.
I was introduced to fishing as a young boy hanging around the dock at the Newton cottage on the backwater of Croton Dam. Most of my early days of fishing occurred on our weekly Sunday visit to the family farm near Howard City where I learned to enjoy the backwoods, and especially looked forward to fishing nearby lakes and streams. Back home I would walk to Echo Lake to fish for pike. As a young teen I took overnight adventures down the Flat, Rogue, and Muskegon Rivers in our Old Town canoe. Trips to Canada with my family were the highlight of my young life. Over the years I have spent countless hours with my Dad fishing and hunting, enjoying every minute of our time together. My three children have all been blessed with the fishing bug and I take great pleasure in my time with them outdoors. My grandchildren are just starting to hang around the dock, wading at water’s edge catching frogs. They are already hooked.
Bill Darooge
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