How long until spring?

Resslin' Around, by Casey Ressler

It's January. Three months from fall, three months 'til the first signs of spring. Can cabin fever get any worse?

I know I'm not alone in suffering. Aaron, a transplanted Valley guy who now lives in the big city, is going through it also. Throughout the summer, we find ourselves alone on the banks of streams often. Aaron and I have gotten to the point where we can set up camp without much conversation, simply because we know each other's tendencies. The same thing holds true when we start fishing.

Through the silence, we know what each other is thinking, and the silence is comfortable. That is the sign of either really good friends, or two guys who need something in their lives other than a fly rod.

Either way, we are comfortable with our routines. And since neither of us really gets into ice fishing, winter is a long, long season.

The first sign of Aaron's cabin fever came Wednesday. The phone rang, and a quick glance at the caller ID told me it was Aaron on the other end.

"Hey, do you know if West Wing is a new episode tonight?" Aaron asked.

"Uh, I think. What are you talking about?" I asked, knowing that Aaron would not be calling me simply to ask about a TV program because other than the Outdoor Channel, I didn't think he watched TV.

"OK, I was just trying to make conversation. The real reason I called is that I got the new Cabela's 2002 fly fishing catalog. Did you get yours?"

"Not yet," I replied.

"Well, maybe you should have been e-mailing them everyday like I have been. Check out these pages," he said, rambling off numbers of pages he clearly had marked. "If you are going to get that 8-weight you've been talking about, you should think about this reel."

The next day, when my catalog arrived, I checked out the pages he talked about and made a mental note about what I absolutely, positively had to order.

I hopped on the computer, intent on checking out the Cabela's Web site to see how to redeem my gift certificates online. I checked my e-mail, and there was another note from Aaron, lamenting the fact he wanted to go fishing, but couldn't because it is still January.

"all work and no fish makes aaron a dull boy," was written, over and over, for the equivalent of 200 column inches.

What makes the cabin fever -- or a lack of fishing opportunities for a better term -- worse is that the recent warm weather actually gives you the impression that spring is on the way.

But it's not. It's still winter, and we are really only halfway through it.

For now, we are settling for a trip to a cabin in the Nancy Lakes area -- relieving cabin fever by going to a cabin for the weekend is ironic, I guess -- and resorting to leafing through catalog after catalog and magazines.

Casey Ressler (valleylife@frontiersman.com) is the Valley Life editor. He's got a hankering for open water and the aroma of stinky waders.