SHARING MORE THAN FISH WITH GRETCHEN
W
h e n t h e stars align while FOR THE LOVE pursuing the river OF THE TUG and its fish, I have By Sara Potter 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
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 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
Playing in the water comes naturally to “country girl” Sara Potter, 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)
24 Northwest Sportsman
DECEMBER 2022 | nwsportsmanmag.com
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 trauma, but to listen. She needed someone who believed in her and her ability to 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 what my friend thinks of my response, as it 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.