I was given a hand me down fly rod thrity some odd years ago, as a kid the long rod was a magical vehicle taking a kid in south central texas to the places I would read about in field & stream. I learned from reading and trial and error ( there were a lot of errors ) to cast and mend then later to tie my own flys. As I grew older there were bass boats and run and gun style fishing but this style of fishing was missing something, then it dawned on me it is not about the catching, or even the fishing, fly fishing for me (as others have stated) is about connecting with the past while being engage in the moment. it is the the way my senses come alive on the water watching trout rising to a hatch, or stalking tailing reds on a flat, I become aware of the things we all take for granted all to often, the smell of moutian laural, the sounds of the mocking birds in the brush the feel of felt on rocks or bare feet in sand. this is why I fly fish and why I teach fly fishing to scouts and other youth groups. I think we all ultimatly find our own inner reasons for chasing fish with fur and feathers my hope is that some of the young people I have introduced to this type of fishing are lucky enough to find some of the peace I found in a hand me down long rod.

darryl