Fishing in the Central Valley: The one that got away was a restful night’s sleep

Getting to sleep the night before a big fishing trip has always been something I dread because I never know if I’m going to be able to sleep — or not.

The seed of my problem usually starts the day before the trip as I hustle around getting everything ready. Most of the time this takes far longer than I think it will which also leads to getting to bed later than planned.

Late to bed and early to rise is a combination that places me on edge and makes me feel as if I am behind.

I do the math in my head and figure if I can get to sleep in 30 minutes, I can still get 4 1/2 hours of rest. Fat chance.

I keep rolling as I try to get comfortable but I never really get to sleep.

Every time I near a sleeping state, I get triggered and return to a fully awake manic state. My mind is in a loop I can’t escape.

At about midnight I finally give in and let all my thoughts rush in about what I need to do in the early morning. and how the day will go and what I may have forgotten to pack. Full inventory of every conceivable thing that I need to consider. Now I have a headache and I can’t get comfortable. Instead, I am miserable and awake.

Or at least, so I thought.

I awake, realizing that I actually had fallen asleep.

But I am not refreshed and relaxed. I am in a near panic, again, fearing that I slept through my alarm or it’s just minutes from my 4 a.m. alarm.

I am nervous to actually look at my clock because if I do and it is 3:30 a.m., I won’t be able to go back to sleep

It is better to know than not know, I look at my clock and see that it is only 2 a.m. and I have had only two hours sleep and need to be up in two hours.

I fight with myself again, wondering if I should just get up or try to go back to sleep. And then I don’t remember anything except hearing a noise in the distance.

It’s my alarm going off.

I was in a deep sleep, afterall.

I wrangle myself out of bed, knowing that caffeine, and lots of it, will be my friend today.

I think every avid angler has gone through an endless night of laying awake while their brain runs amok.

This is just part of this disease known as being hooked on fishing.

Sleep tight… and never give up

Roger George: rogergeorge8@protonmail.com, Rogergeorgeguideservice on Facebook and @StriperWars.

This story was originally published June 4, 2024 at 1:05 PM with the headline "Fishing in the Central Valley: The one that got away was a restful night’s sleep."