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FLY FISHERS ALL
Not everything we do in life is connected to fly fishing. I can't believe I said that, but we have chosen to be involved in a sport, hobby, avocation which does take on a life of its own. If you hang around this adventure long enough you find it gets to you, or, perhaps better said, it gets you.
Beautiful post. One of your best.
Randy
Deanna,
I agree with Randy. That is one of many great "writings" from you. It made me think about my fly fishing and answered a question that has always "bugged" me and that was why some would consider a fly fisher who can honestly state that they enjoy their days on the water all by themselves. There are some people who feel I am a "snob" or "stick in the mud" person when I decide that I want to take a day by myself and go fly fishing. I do not know how to explain to them that I am not really "by myself". I am in a world that is void of humans and I need those days at times and I am not really by myself. I become the river, the wild flowers, the wind, the sounds and all other living things that are in this other world. The difference between the "living things" in this world and those that contain humans is that the "living things" put no demands on me, don't depend on me to make sure they have a great time and put no limits on how long I can stay and how far I can explore. When I am the only human in this "other world" I feel like the early explorers just discovering what is around me. It is such a great feeling. When by myself, I see things that may only happen once a day on a river and I was the only human there to see it on that particular day. Sometimes I will capture the moment with my camera and sometimes I would rather just keep the image in my mind to enjoy and fear sharing it with others with a picture may spoil the spot by others wanting to see it and bringing all their friends with them. How do I explain that some of those experiences are not meant to be shared with "many" people. During these "by myself" fishing trips I know I am going through the motions of fly fishing, but, not really aware of where the fly is and have allowed my mind and eyes to absorb my surroundings as though, for a moment, I am not a "human" but part of the great surroundings. It is during these times that sometimes I will be brought back to reality by the disturbance of a "rise" and then I am aware that I am suppose to be fly fishing. I will fish that "rise" and if I do all things right, I will catch the fish. When I do I always tell the fish, before releasing it, that it was not my fault that it got caught because the fish gave its location away by rising where I could see it. There are times when someone is with me and we are walking up the river bank to the next spot to fish that I notice they walk past things like wild flowers, a squirrel, a mink, an otter and other amazing things and never notice them. How can anyone not stop long enough to enjoy these things and let these things "burn" into their memory so that they can relive them later? How did they miss this "happening"? I think they miss these "happenings" because they have left their minds in the "human's" world and they have not become a part of their surroundings. What a shame because they are missing some great "happenings". Maybe they are only thinking about the "catching" and not the fishing and if that is the case, they are missing the most exciting part of fly fishing and that is the surroundings.
They say that the practice of Yoga teaches you to let your mind block out the surroundings of the world and helps you to experience the peace of another world and maybe, just maybe that is what fly fishing needs to be about. I know it works for me and I just love that feeling and my surroundings.
Sorry for the long post. I think I slipped into the "living world" of my mind and started to reliving it again and THAT is what my fly fishing is all about.
But yet it is... In the back of our minds we return to the river, the lake, the pond and think of the sunset that we saw back when...
My first memory of any fishing at all, is bait fishing with my grand father and mother. They couldn't get their cane poles in the water because of me catching fish with my cane pole and turning around to get the fish off and re-baited. We were Crappie fishing. I don't know what I'd do without that memory of my grand father. There are many more, but that one is special... his tee-hee laugh through loose dentures and teasing me about saving some of the fish for him to catch. I must've been about four years old standing barefoot on the bank of Arlington lake with an over-sized horse collar life jacket on. I remember I caught three or four fish before he and mom got their lines in the water. Then it was a waiting game for everyone.
But... fishing was all bait fishing when I was small. My grand father brought the minnow seine and we caught our minnows, then we fished. If there weren't any minnows we didn't fish. We were dirt poor... which meant if you couldn't fish with dirt you might not eat that night. Many times I saw him take a clump of dirt and mix it with chicken blood to make a mud blood bait for cat fishing. It worked too. That was our dinner many times... I think we put the red in red-neck.
Thank you for that thread Ladyfisher... it brought back some good memories.
Deanna, thanks. I wish I had your gift and talent.
Kelly.
Quote from your wonderful article. (You do know everyone is welcome at any Fish-In anywhere - well as long as you are a reader of FAOL - note I did not say a "member" this isn't a Private Club. It is your web site.) Unquote.
Deanna you know I'd rather cut off my right arm than disagree with you But!!!
I have to point out to you that several times at the Idaho Fish in and the Central Washington Fish In. Even in the Lowell coffee shop some of us have invited strangers that we met on stream to come and join in the festivities and the fishing.
Each time this happened they were greeted by one and all as friends. I remember at the Ephrata campground Castwell even flagged down a cop car and tried to kidnap/coax the Cop into turning off the radio and joining one of our casting clinics. One of those people we invited at Lowell turned out to be a EMT who assisted me when I broke my arm. He was there because DG and I met him in the coffee shop and DG got him interested in joining us.
So I would have to say, everyone is welcome to a fish in. Especally the guy who brings the fudge. :smile: