You’d damn near talked yourself into it too. You almost got yourself to believe that an unvarnished skunking, wasn’t so bad, that it wouldn’t rankle until your next time out, that it wasn’t like finding coal in your Christmas stocking.
It’s true what they say. The gap between more and enough never closes.
“It’s okay,” said Steven in a clipped, slightly strangled tone. He was kneeling in the riverbed, gazing into the middle distance as he spoke, as though looking for his happy place. I’d had it by the tail four seconds earlier – if not his happy place exactly, certainly a reasonable five-pound stand-in. But like, Read More
He’s peering skeptically from behind a boulder at a shin-deep seam that looks to be another of his son-in-law’s eccentricities. The koi pond back home in Florida looks more promising. Fishing? Sure, he loves fishing, been doing it all his life. 360 degrees of Gulf Stream blue horizon, a mile of water under the, Read More
Be willing to go where others won’t. Keep casting, even when it seems futile. The Reward will come.
First we want to catch a fish. Next we want a lot of fish. Then we want to land the fish.
First we want to catch a fish. Next we want a lot of fish. Then we want to land the fish.
We’ve known each other for years. In the days when I spent more time with a belay device in my hand than a fly rod, we climbed together often. But geography and time pulled us apart. So I was thrilled when Toby called and said he wanted to come visit. It was an opportunity, Read More
The sun peeks over the canyon rim, providing light for a few short hours. In the cold and dark hardly anyone visits. But the trout are still there.
“Interested in fishing this afternoon?” asked Steven. Knowing from experience that Steven’s enthusiasm occasionally outpaces his judgment in these matters, I gave his question serious thought before answering. The idea had some obvious shortcomings…most notably that the thermometer read 9 degrees. On the other hand, the day was young, sunny and still. Standing there, Read More
“Dada, is this one pokey?” “Yep.” “Um… cause it’s got a hook on it?” “They all have hooks son. Careful.” “Ok, I will. But then… if I get poked a little… then um… then I’ll just be brave. Ok Dada?” The next day would bring the year’s first fishing trip and we had some, Read More