Many of my memories are linked to by fishing partner of 40 years. William Downey was the ideal fishing partner because we liked the same type fishing and areas.
William was my next door neighbor and was the CEO of the bank that financed my fly shop and home. He also introduced my mother and father back in the day.
Many years ago we were interested in fishing the trico hatch in Pennsylvania. The hatch came on at 7a.m. We decided to get the cheapest motel we could find so that we didn’t have a 2-hour drive. The room had everything we needed and was close to the stream. All was fine until 3a.m. when a loud crash woke us up. Right away we realized a strong wind had blow the door off our room. It was beyond repair so propped it closed with a chair and went back to bed. The alarm went off and out the propped door we went just in time for the hatch.
Memories Part II
One evening we stayed so late on a trout stream that we lost the trail hiking out. My car was parked on the Skyline Drive on top of the mountain. We decided to hike up the side of the mountain and come out on the Skyline Drive. The mountain was very steep so I let William set the pace. The light was fading and we commented on the large number of deer that were out feeding along the way. Suddenly a bear stood up close by. I watched the bear and commented on how big it was. I glanced around and realized William was way up the mountain ahead of me. Little did I know he was afraid of bear. Needless to say he set a faster pace after seeing the bear.
I miss him deeply and think of him often, especially when I’m headed for a trout stream. Cherish your memories!