I broke my fishing drought on Saturday with a trip to the South Fork of the Boise River. Short story: skunked. Between five us, we caught maybe a handful of fish, and these were all pretty savvy anglers. So does fishing suck on the South Fork? Nope. We just didn’t have a great day catching fish.

That’s how it goes. As the late, great Hunter Thompson said, “Buy the ticket, take the ride.”

Fishing is never guaranteed, and if it was, it would be boring. It’s the unknowns that keep it interesting. I’ve spent enough time on the South Fork to know we could have gone the next day and caught a bunch of fish. If I had landed one of the South Fork’s 20-plus-inch rainbows, I might be bragging right now.

If I knew I was going to get skunked, I might have stayed home. But that’s the point. We didn’t know what the outcome would be, so we went. No regrets.

Tip of the hat to those who take the long drive on short, cold days and are willing to strike out.

Usually, that doesn’t happen. It’s not like it’s a great handicap fishing in December. I don’t typically see my catch rates dramatically fall because it’s cold outside. It’s just not as pleasant as a sunny day with 70-degree temperatures.

I’m still trying to get up to Riggins and go steelhead fishing, and my winter won’t be complete if I don’t go ice fishing. A friend and I talked about a crappie and perch assault on C.J. Strike for some winter-fresh fillets. I’ve also heard about some trout anglers still out float-tubing reservoirs.

And so it goes. Buy the ticket, take the ride.