... and it involved very little drinking, well, not too much anyway.
Got my fly tying gear and starter kit last week, and have bought a bunch of stuff since. Wow. It's an amazing habit to have. I say habit, because it's just added another dimension to my fishing addiction.
I've tied a bunch of flies so far. Started with the ones in the booklet that came with my Cabela's starter kit, but it didn't take me long to go off the tracks and start going crazy, especially with some materials I've picked up at local stores that were never intended to be used to tie flies.
Also started tying some poppers and just got my materials to begin tying some clousers.
I've come to realize over the few short months that I've been doing this that a large majority of my time will be spent going after smallies, sunfish and even walleyes.
I'm also contemplating stalking out some carp, as our waterways are absolutely filled with them.
Trout are out there, and some of the flies I'm tying will be intended to pick those up, but my local waters are mainly warmwater type fisheries, so if I'm tying flies, I'm going to be tying flies that will look attractive to those other fish primarily, with trout being a secondary, but noble, purpose.
Also, I've got my three-year-old helping me tie flies and he's done a couple of his own (with materials I'll not be using for my own). He loves it and I can't wait until I can get him interested in fishing. I'm going to take him and my eight-year-old spinning this year and leave my gear at home.
In fact, my wife informed me this morning that my three-year-old has been walking around the house today planning out his next fly, to look like a "moth."
I've got every male person in my household loving fishing, watching fishing and thinking about fishing. Who knew when I picked up that dusty old spinning rod and reel last summer that I, as well as many of those around me, would fall so deeply in love with the sport?
But, perhaps most importantly, it's saving me a bundle on fees that would otherwise go to my therapist.