I caught three trout Friday and Saturday in Broad Brook, which flows through East Windsor, Conn. I grew up fishing off lake docks. I wasn’t knowledgeable in stream fishing. No worries, though. I had plenty of friends to help me.

And that’s how I have been dealing with the unexpected death of my dear friend Eric Wormstedt of East Windsor, Conn. Friendship is how it seems everyone he knew is dealing. He had so many friends. When I went out to Connecticut last week for the visitation and funeral, I figured I would be there as simply “Eric’s friend” to all of Eric’s friends. I discovered I was their friend, too.

I would describe Eric as an Army buddy, except that the Army was merely the start of our long relationship. Eric, Bryan Christianson of Tulsa, Okla. and I met in the Army, and the three of us would get together every few years. Bryan was murdered in May. He was 39. Eric died Aug. 3 when his car went off the road and hit a tree, probably because he fell asleep at the wheel. He was 36.

Two of my closest and best friends have been ripped away. And even though I have these draining, swirling emotions, I can say it has been easier to deal with because of other friends. Eric had loads of friends, and they are my friends, too.

I went fishing in Broad Brook with Eric’s nephew Mike Wormstedt and buddies Pete Nevers, Bill Smith and Sam Pomeroy. Bill and Sam had some luck but left the woods to avoid a storm. Pete, Mike and I welcomed the rain and found a honey hole of trout. We pulled 15 or 16 out of there and kept 10 on a stick. The rain livened the stream and made the day. We were wet, but supper was the best I’d had all summer. Plus, I learned to fish in a stream, something Eric had begun to teach me during a visit in Washingon state in 2004. His friends completed the lesson. They have renewed my childhood love of fishing.

Eric liked to write, too. At the funeral, his niece, Regina, shared what Eric wrote about his favorite holiday. He wrote it in 1995:

“To some it is just another Saturday, or the day before Easter depending on the year. For me, the third Saturday in April is the best of holidays. It is the opening morning of fishing season. I look forward to this Saturday like no other weekend throughout the year.

“The fishing season ends with the nearing of winter. From that moment on my friends and I begin daydreaming and discussing the following fishing season. We begin making plans for opening morning, or simply start bragging about all the fish we’re going to catch.

“By the end of January my friends, family and I have the itch, or the ‘bug,’ as we call it. This bug is the primordial urge to get our lines in the water and do a little fishing. However, it is still far too cold. The fishing is not as good in the winter. Sure, I could go ice fishing, but it’s just not the same.

“About a month or so later this bug has developed into a full-blown virus. After several trips to the tackle shop, it’s time to get my gear ready, two months ahead of time. I’ll spend hours rearranging my tackle box or cleaning my reel. For me, this day deserves great preparation.

“Soon, it is April, and by now I’ve already cast my line to the water at least once. My friends and I fish the Connecticut River when the ice goes off. We fish here because there is no closed season, and we can usually get some action prior to opening morning.

“Finally, the day arrives that I so eagerly await. The excitement of this morning has me leaping out of the bed at 4 a.m. A quick breakfast, and I’m off to greet the sun over my favorite fishing hole.

“Opening morning brings me to a blissful, childish state of excitement. It is not just opening day, but all that though and the preparation that goes into it before. The feeling of being on a stream, in the woods, during the misty morning sunrise and a trout bending your pole brings it all together.

“This has been a tradition in my family since long before my time. I’ve been upholding this tradition since I was old enough to hold a fishing pole. I have also seen the younger generations of my family follow this tradition closely.

“It does my heart good to see and feel the excitement that surrounds this day. Even more so, it does my soul good to see this joy in my family and friends as well. Just like a child at Christmas, I anxiously await my favorite holiday.”

Tribune Managing Editor Tim Engstrom’s column appears every Tuesday.