I think one of the main ideas of this story, “Big Two-Hearted River”, (part two) is the idea of escape from the drone of everyday life. Years prior, his buddies use to go with him, but now it was only him. Being alone, he felt close to his inner self. Because of this, he would always be drawn back the the Black River, whether with friends or not.
http://thenounproject.com/noun/fishing/#icon-No370