Report from Fletcher’s Cove, November 10, 2008

A hearty thank-you to our customers!… dear new ones and loyal long timers. Fletcher’s Cove is now closed after a great 2008 season. We hope you had a chance to come play in our paradise.

A special note of gratitude to the dedicated workers of the C&O Canal National Park Service and the U.S. Park Police. With partners in service such as these, the public has received a “triple-play” of quality, opportunity and value at Fletcher’s.

Please come see us again when we re-open in March, 2009. Of course, the lovely park around Fletcher’s Cove remains open during the late fall and winter months. There is the large, free parking lot, open dawn to dusk. As I write this, the leaves are a spectacular sight along the river and palisades. The colder days ahead bring an airy openness to the woods adjacent to the towpath. A brisk walk in the park can produce amazing surprises, historic and natural. Bring a pair of binoculars, a camera and an inquiring mind.

I do have some fishing news. To their good fortune, our friends Catfish Mona and Minnow Master made one last foray out on the deep waters of the Potomac in October. Fishing in their favorite spot, Mona and partner tangled with the whopper catfish pictured herein. It was so heavy, the scale on which they tried to weigh it broke under the weight of the fish. At that point, Mona used her special “lap-measurement” technique and declared it a real brute. Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Whiskerdom.

I have noticed many more schools of baitfish and minnows around the boathouse during the late summer and fall. I’ll take this as an optimistic sign pointing to next spring’s fishing potential. As I point out each year, don’t wait too long into the spring to check on the new season of angling at Fletcher’s. With a little March warmth, things can get going in a hurry and you might miss some of the year’s best shad and striper fishing.

From our hideaway down by the banks of the Potomac, we are mindful of the exciting times in that “other Washington” just downstream. Our amazing democracy is again producing a seamless and peaceful transition of power from one administration to another. Let us say thanks to those who have served and will be leaving, and a gracious welcome to new faces come to town. You are now residing in a “city of trees.” Bountiful natural hideaways and resources are at your doorstep. Much of the Washington viewed by Lincoln from his cottage high on the Soldier’s Home grounds, by Teddy Roosevelt as he rode his horse by my grandmother’s house in Georgetown, and by F.D.R. cruising in his “sunshine special” convertible… much of that Washington still remains. Please embrace it! As our ship-of-state steers a fresh course with new hands on the wheel, remember always that we spring from the earth, and thus we shall return… powerful and meek alike.

I urge anyone with an interest in the natural Washington to read Louis J. Halle’s timeless book “Spring in Washington.” It will comfort and reassure you during the cold days of January. Let me end with a quote of his:

“If you observe the progress of the seasons carefully, you will find them all present the year around. They are interwoven themes in this continuing symphonic utterance, each becoming dominant in its turn without ever wholly vanquishing the rest.”

That’s all for now. Thanks for spending this bit of time together.

Dan