Sharing More Than Fish With Gretchen, by Sara Potter

SHARING MORE THAN FISH WITH GRETCHEN

When t h e stars align while foot on the banks of a river again after the tragic loss of her boys’ father in a canoeing accident. Nurturing her boys after witnessing the worst-case scenario of their young lives was all that mattered the river through my heart in order to heal in the ways she is intended to heal. She wasn’t meant to live in fear of something so special. She needed a woman she could trust not only to help overcome the pursuing the river and its fish, I have encountered the most amazing things nature has to offer. I realize, though, that it isn’t always about nature. Sometimes the stars align with a purpose far more important – perhaps for a person.

I never realized how truly comfortable I was on my river and its creeks until I met someone who actually wasn’t. This special person allowed me to grow by helping her embrace the river for all of her fluid magic. Gretchen had every reason to never step to Gretchen in the months that followed. She was living for them and at the same time harboring the deepest of pain. As a mother and woman, I can’t even imagine bearing such a heavy chapter. But I believe the Lord wanted Gretchen on the water, where she would discover the moments and places that only connecting with nature can provide. She felt intrigue and joy, all while believing she was closer to Shane, the boys’ father, when she reconnected with the water. I also believe the Lord wanted Gretchen to see FOR THE LOVE trauma, but to listen. She needed someone OF THE TUG who believed in her and her ability to By Sara Potter pursue something that intrigued her. How amazing it is to have a dream worth chasing! But even more amazing is to have someone who believes not only in your dream, but in you. In sharing the comfort and strength my most precious watershed naturally has given me, I wholeheartedly believe that this first trip to my forest helped Gretchen to heal. IN ALL HONESTY I have read less than two handfuls of fishing articles ever. I know, that’s probably not good as a writer, but it’s the truth. I met Gretchen by fate. It was the first time I had ever fished with a group of ladies, or on the Columbia River. It was my first time on a sled boat, first time sitting on anchor, first time meeting guide David Johnson – all of which led to my first Columbia springer. I was nervous on multiple levels; not just socially, but the whole boat thing was far, far away from my comfort zone. Gretchen and I shared a common bond of being in Northwest Sportsman’s December 2016 Real Women of the Northwest Fishing issue. When she talked of our articles and how much she enjoyed mine, she brought up only a little of the piece her friend Troy wrote about her, asking me if I had read it. In my life I am as honest as I can be, but in that moment I fibbed, saying, yes, I had, and something along the lines of it being awesome. I didn’t want her to think I was selfabsorbed, but honestly, I hadn’t read any of that issue’s other articles. To this day I wonder Playing in the water comes naturally to “country girl” Sara Potter, what my friend thinks of my response, as it but it’s been tougher for Gretchen Dearden, given the loss of her sons’ father in a canoeing accident. A campout and swimming in Sara’s Cascades creek helped them understand each other better. (SARA POTTER) was fake as all get-out. I had no idea the trauma she and her boys had been through, so of course I mentioned nothing of it.

Regardless of my lame response, we bonded the day we met and despite my little white lie, we were destined to become more than Facebook friends. We would become real friends. I honestly believe now that at the time I wasn’t meant to know what she had been through; had I known, I believe I may not have dived all-in sharing my watershed with her like I did.

Seeing each other a couple months later on, on another one of David’s “Fish like a Girl Adventures,” led to a weekend full of the best of things an adventure can bring. New beginnings, massive laughter and creatures like I had never encountered. That wild weekend would end with me extending an invitation to Gretchen. I wanted her to come camping with me in my big backyard. I wanted her to embrace the water without a guide, or a man of any sort. I knew we would have a blast, and so we set a date just a few weeks out.

SUMMER STEELHEAD ARE my favorite fish

of all and in my personal life I have shared them with very few people. I grew so much in pursuing them; they lit my fire like no other creature on Earth! I literally was in love with them and their cycle. The river and creeks that house them during their lifecycle intrigued me and were my new reason to spend as much of my time as possible on the water. They consumed my time and my heart; being so possessive, I suppose I wanted them all to myself and so I shared them only with my babes and the men who fished the river’s banks. I definitely met some incredible people, but I preferred to get there first, needing to claim my spot, and if it ended up that I was only one there, even better.

So to feel the desire to invite my beautiful new friend to share in something I hold so dear was a pretty major step for me. It was fate that Gretchen and I would embark upon this adventure in my big backyard, just as it was fate that I would learn her story firsthand, not from an article. Just the two of us up in my luscious forest. I love that I got to share that creek and that camp with her, as no part of that forest remains after September 2020’s Archie Creek Fire, aside from the creek and its fish. The forest burned so hot up Rock Creek that it is now almost completely unrecognizable, even to me. I didn’t know I would lose such a place when I decided to emerge from the steelhead hermit shell I had been living in, but I am so happy I was able to share it with Gretchen when I did.

We set up camp on the creek closest to my fishing hole, but spent the afternoon up the creek that literally holds the key to my heart. These cold streams are special not only because they are beyond refreshing and stunningly beautiful, but because they house wild summer-runs. I led the way to my private little swimming spot, we had ourselves a picnic and a couple cold beers, and we were set.

The heat had the rocks feeling warm and the beer tasting good. The country girl in me wanted to connect with my creek, of course, and so I asked Gretchen if she wanted to dive in with me. She was sweet but denied my invitation. Not questioning why not, I said OK and jumped off the rock we were suntanning on. That total refreshment is second to none on a hot summer day after a couple beers. I swam for a minute but quickly rejoined my friend, as it only takes a minute for your core to cool in that water. Loving the way the water felt, I encouraged Gretchen to test the waters.

That encouragement had her dealing with fear inside her head and her heart that I had no clue about. However, in that vulnerable state it led to a deep heartwrenching and eventually heart-warming conversation. My heart sank faster than a rock to the bottom of the river when she shared what had happened. I truly believe Gretchen never really had anybody listen to her, even though I know she had shared this painful piece of her life with others. Maybe she could feel my heart and that my care was genuine. I didn’t get the edited version. I got the raw, vulnerable truth, the kind that

is sometimes hard to face, let alone tell.

The words we shared on the warmth of my rocks never left me and despite expressing such loss and sadness, once we were done, Gretchen wanted to swim, and so we did. Staying close to her I watched the fear in her big brown eyes melt away into a smile. We swam and explored a nice stretch of the creek. She was having fun, laughing big in the rapids and little waterfalls. I believe a necessary part of her healing took place up the creek that day.

We fished hard and I was proud to show her what it is I love. That very stretch of the river means a whole lot to me, as does my technique of fishing. Gretchen got to see and feel firsthand the snags and the rigging and rerigging, the tugs and action-packed adrenaline of fighting a summer steelhead on that wild stretch of water. Though we didn’t land that fish, she did see one caught across the river – and bless my buddy Brian’s heart, he came across to say hello before heading home. And so Gretchen got to see a fresh and beautiful harvest up close.

We had fun. That was all the mattered. I mean, she may have been after a summer steelhead, but I think what she walked away with from that campout was a belief in herself that was more than she had had in some time. I watched her continue to believe in herself and excel over the next few years. As she helped others while pursuing what it is she loves, I was super proud to see her share the passion. And even more proud to see her believing in herself.

DESPITE ALL THE amazing things I saw in Gretchen and through her, I saw steelhead still hadn’t found their way to her. I wanted her to know what the big deal was! You really have to feel it and live it to know. I wanted her to know steelhead, and what it is to fight these fish in the river. Whether winters or summers, these fish are special and truly captivating.

Stars aligning once more, I somewhat randomly invited Gretchen to join me on the river for a late winter drift with my good friend Ted Jones. Nearly five years had passed since we swam up the creek, but finally we were going to fish my river once more. Despite Covid and the craziness that it was, she made it to my little house and we had two days of fishing ahead of us.

Day one was victorious in a lot of ways, but also simply because Gretchen got to experience how truly intimate and peaceful side-drifting for winter fish is. It’s not big sled boats with massive rigging dragging behind. No, it’s tiny bits of precision not only in your lure, but in where you cast your lure. She learned so much on day one and landed herself a nice little wild winter buck. The champion in Ted was not too impressed with the one bite we had found and so he offered us an ocean trip for day two. Me, I will choose the river always, so I lobbied for giving the river another go. Gretchen was learning and you just never know when it comes to flowing water and fish. I also wanted to hit the river one more time before I called it a season on winter-runs. My pep talk must have worked because we would meet before daylight for one final drift.

I HAD A good feeling when we woke that late March morning. The river had dropped a bit and the weather was welcoming the spring that was upon us. There’s just something about hitting the water before daybreak that I love. I love to listen in the darkness as nature transitions from night to day; I try to anticipate what the day might bring.

With fog still holding tightly to the river we soon were on our way. It amazes me how just the tiniest of things can change and the demeanor of the fish can be totally different. Our casting was where it needed

to be for Ted to do his thing and just like that, there it was! Gretchen listened well and executed on her hookset like a stud. It wasn’t too wild of a fight, as the little steelhead was a downriver fish, but it was actually the perfect first one of the day for her. I loved showing my friend how we handle them with care, making the moment quite special and tranquil. The key is to join the fish. Being thigh-high in a winter’s river isn’t for everyone, but it is for me. And so how perfect was it that the Lord brought us together for Gretchen to experience what it is to embrace her fears of the river, all while embracing wild winter steelhead?

We were jacked after the first release and Gretchen asked me if that was about the size steelhead are. I smiled and didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but I was honest and told her it was quite tiny and it had already spawned. But I added that getting a bite out of the first slot was a great sign and hopefully we would find more.

The beautiful thing is, we did find more! It was one of the best days of my life. I got to be with Gretchen as she faced fear through exciting new things that led to unforgettable moments, and I love that. She held my hand tightly as Ted rowed us through the rapids of our massive river. It was just us and in that day I saw her overcome things that, God willing, a lot of us will never have to face.

We may have started the day off with a downriver fish, but we surely didn’t end it that way. The water that had yielded just a lone bite the day before served up seven or eight this day. They were big, bright beautiful upriver fish, including a massive buck whose tail was too thick to grasp. It was incredible and chaotic and we got our fill of wild winter tugs, all while making Ted proud.

FROM ONE DAY to the next you just never know, and it shows you that we should never give up, nor should we let fear of failure keep us from living. In fishing and life, sometimes what we believe we are searching for isn’t what we find. That doesn’t mean we won’t eventually find it; it just means we must trust in our journey. We have to take life one step at a time and know there is good in this sometimes sad life. Even in our darkest days we must never stop looking for the light on the horizon. Trusting in timing isn’t always easy, but life proves it to be crucial. Sadly, we all will leave this life on Earth one day, but I believe it would be even more tragic if we just existed when we are blessed enough to truly live it.

The greatest gifts I have ever been able to give in this life are not ones that are wrapped in silk ribbons. Rather, they come from my heart. And the greatest gift I can receive comes in knowing I have made a difference in someone’s life – hopefully the kind of difference that allows them to go make a difference as well. I feel things deeply, possess passions galore, and sharing it all with people like Gretchen helps me believe there is worth in believing. My heart is on the river and I couldn’t change it, even if I tried. NS

Join us on the Puget Sound for some salmon or lingcod fishing with light tackle! Fishing in the protected water of the Puget Sound with various fishingcharters that are great for all ages and skill levels alike.