I have put some people off that I was going to take fishing for sockeye on Lake Wenatchee. Fishing was very slow this past week, and I am hoping the bite will improve and I can get some folks in on some sockeye fishing fun. In the meantime, I go do something that I enjoy doing all by myself. I grab my fly rod and drive up the Icicle River valley to one of the stretches that I like to fish. It’s a lot cooler up the valley than in Leavenworth, and I rarely find anyone in the same place that I fish. The trout are small, but they act like the big ones, pouncing on the fly and jumping. I find myself chuckling to myself watching them. I had spent a couple of hours struggling trying to load a computer program on a backup computer, and spending time on the river is a great way to clear my mind. I marveled at the scent in the air on the way back to my truck. Nothing like that pine aroma. Next time I get wound up, I know where to wind down, on the river, casting to small trout.