Lighter Side
January 26, 1998
Opening Day, 1997
by F. Thomas

Our last Opening Day,
Cold and rainy, the night before the prom
And still she comes with me!

Up at 4:00, she follows a little later,
Coffee together, with her brand new waders.
We've no chance today, purists die,
Our bait today, a tasteless fly.

Hatchery trout, chilled and lost,
If we miss today, can I measure the cost?
We spare them all, as we bond and shiver
The Blackledge today will not deliver.

Side by side, we roll our lines
Her first fly rod, she's doing fine.
A young man approaches, smoking, shy,
Impressed to watch her handle fly.

The fact she's beautiful, blonde and tall
May have drawn him too, she didn't call.
Polite, she speaks, but guards her spot
Room on the bank? NOT!

At 6 am, the worms start to fly,
We cast with our streamers, no one is dry,
The sun never shows, the fish never rise
But we don't want to stop … time flies.

In an hour, she's got it, casting with skill
Like riding, a natural, for dad, what a thrill.
To have daughter beside me, loving the part,
She says,"it's romantic", she touches my heart.

Hypothermia threatens, neither one will budge,
I speak first, "it's freezing!", we head for the lodge,
Where pancakes and coffee are dispensed with lies
Eggs, toast and kielbasa of "keeper" size.

A tour of the river is next on the list,
To scout out a new spot and check out the fish.

In waders and vests, we pile into the car
Heading downstream, we don't get too far.
Biz has discovered that while fish don't like noise
They attract men in droves and also young boys.

The next spot we see, is not Piscatorial,
It's more like a outdoor magazine pictorial.
The men are climbing on top of each rock,
Their sons and their rods create visual shock!

Six boys scream; "He's got one!" as one hooks a large tree,
My daughter, my buddy, say's "This looks fine to me!"
Appalled at the carnage, I can't help but smile
When I was her age, I was part of the pile.

As I look around me, I see the new ranks,
It's all part of history, we're on different banks.
She's hooked, she can fish with a worm or a fly.
But she'll fish with another. Can I say goodbye?

Fishin' buddies for years, it has been ours to share
I know in my heart she'll always be there.
But next year comes college, too far away,
So what will I do next Opening Day? ~ F. Thomas

My daughter, "Biz" (Elizabeth), has been fishing with me for many years and she hasn't missed Opening Day in Connecticut since she was 10 years old.

A week before opening day in Connecticut, April 19, 1997, I cautiously mentioned to my daughter that Opening Day was coming up and, since her Senior Prom was being held that same night, did she still want to go with me? She answered immediately with an enthusiastic yes! As she had just received a new fly rod and reel from her Godfather for her 18th Birthday (May 13) we both agreed to fish with nymphs and streamers at our favorite spot on The BlackLedge River in Marlborough, CT. (Across the street from The Moose Lodge)

It was a typical rainy, cold day in April and we decided to move around, fishing our way down the stream. Well, when the guys saw my 5'10" beautiful blonde daughter working a fly rod with her new waders they were hypnotized. They would wander over and start babbling about anything they could think of.

The events in the poem are all accurate and occurred as described. She realized (for the first time?, right Dad) that GUYS do most of the fishing and there are not many young woman out there. Well, we both had the best time of our fishing lives together. When I got home, I had to pack for a business trip. I wrote Opening Day, 1997 for Biz.

My wife and I took Biz to college at Ole Miss in August, 1997. Of course, she packed her fly rod & reel and waders into her red Jeep Wrangler in case of emergencies ~ F.T.

About F. Thomas


F. Thomas is an avid but average fisherman and has been blessed with an above average, extraordinary family. His wife, Nelle, and two children, Tom & Biz, patiently listen to his fish stories and poems. Despite being a hyperactive traveling consultant and former CPA, he really wants to be a writer. He and his family live in a 200 year old home on Chester Creek in Chester, CT.


Copyright ©1997, 1998 F. Thomas Crowley, Jr. All rights reserved.



Other Poems:

River Bed by Dave Motes
Canyon's coming -- Gunnison by Dave Motes
The Flyline by Dave Motes
Rising Spirits by Dave Salamone
Shadow Jungle or Pike? by Dave Motes
The Fish by Elizabeth Bishop
The Ongoing Saga of Castwell and Ladyfisher by Randy Fratzke
Not My Own by Dave Salamone
Plunge Pool Brookie by Dave Motes
Breaking by Dave Motes
White Miller by John Engels
A Fisherman Reflects (A Tribute to Lee Wulff) by Bob Jacklin
Fly Box by H. Wheeler Perce
When Dreams Are Cast by Dave P. Salamone
Upon the Morn by David Salamone
The Disconnections by John Engels
Damselfly, Trout, Heron by John Engels
Why I Fly-Fish by Ernie Harrison
Oh, what a Day by David P. Salamone
Memories of More than One by David P. Salamone
Mudtrapped by John Engels
What I Leave Behind by David P. Salamone
The Way It Was by Ernie Harrison
Awakening by David P. Salamone
Eros Tyrannos by James Armstrong
Genesee River by David P. Salamone
There Is More by Ken Abrames
New York by David P. Salamone
Reflection by David P. Salamone
Last Waltz by David P. Salamone
Equanimity by Ken Abrames
Deadpool by John Engels
Fly Fishing by Tony Grenier
This Earth by Gwen Frostic
On Waters' Edge by D.P. Salamone
Truth or Tale? by D.P.Salamone
When Rod and Line Again Appear by D.P.Salamone
Too Soon by D.P.Salamone
In Golden Light by D.P. Salamone
The Switch by D.P. Salamone
At Night On The River by John Engles
Rainbows False-Spawning by John Engles
Hatch by John Engels
My Choice by Geno Loro
Falling In by John Engles
The Guardian of the Lakes at Notre Dame by John Engels
Foote Brook by John Engels
Looking For Water by John Engels
Gutting Bluefish by John Engels
The Storm by John Engles
Muskrat by John Engels
Thunder River by John Engels
Forever by D.P. Salamone
Aquarium by John Engels
Bass by Fred Mather
The Crows by John Engles
To Love a Stream by F. Thomas
Opening Day, 1997 by F.Thomas
Pewter River Haiku by Louis J. Wentz
My Highlight of Fly Fishing by D.P. Salamone
So Complicated But Simple Life by D.P. Salamone
Fly Fishing by W.J. Mallory
Here's to the Girl - by Sherman Ripley
Age Lessening by D.P. Salamone
Spring Fever by AF Westervelt
FlyTying by W.J. Mallory
FAOL Fish-In Friendship by D.P. Salamone
Acronyms by D.P. Salamone
Signs of a Highway by W.J. Mallory
Drift Fishing by W.J. Mallory
A Hunters Poem unknown
In Flander's Fields by John McCrae
Lonesome Coho by W.J. Mallory
The Marshes At Suamico, Wisconsin by John Engles
East Middlebury by John Engles
The Raft by John Engles
Eternal Father (Navy Hymn)
Pilgrimage by John Engles
Testament of a Fisheman by Robert Traver
At Night On the Lake In The Eye of the Hunter by John Engles
Indulgence on the Wharfe by Gordon M. Wickstrom
G     n Creek by W.J. Mallory
The Song of Wandering Aengus by William Butler Yates
The Au Sable by W.J. Mallory
You're On the Miramichi by William T. Griffin
The Photograph by John Engles
Flye Fishing by L A Garcia
Green Bay Flies by John Engles
T.R.O.U.T. by DP Salamone
Beyond The Fly by DP Salamone
Hemingway, You Old Bear by Joseph Heywood
Individuality by Gwen Frostic
Wa'al I'll be Durn by Francis H. Buzzacott
The Salmon Leap by Francis H. Buzzacott
The Old Bass Ground by Francis H. Buzzacott
When the Bull-Heads Bite by Francis H. Buzzacott
A Photo of My Mother and My Grandpa Lighting Out by John Engles
The Last Day by Deanna Lee Birkholm
The North Branch by John Engles
A Military Christmas unknown
Calendar-spring by David Motes
The Fly Box by John Engles
Game Warden's Lament
author unknown
Big Water by John Engles
The Best Kept Fishing Secret by Andy Hogan
While fly-fishing by Brian Nerney
On Common Water by Andy Hogan
The Last Cast by Andy Hogan
(unknown) by Alfred Lord Tennison
A Good Fight by Andy Hogan
The Bonny Red Heckle North Country Fisher's Garland
This Here Hat's Fer Fishin by Andy Hogan
Un-named By Westwood
Potomac Water Gap by David Motes
More Beyond Time by Gwen Frostic
Grasshopper-hands by David Motes
When Did We Go To The Michigan Woods? by Anna C. Brackett
Behold the Fisherman! unknown
Freedom Isn't Free unknown
From: Beyond Time By Gwen Frostic
Legend of Glooskap By Arthur Wentworth Eaton
Rainbow Rising By David Motes
Fly With A Gull By Gwen Frostic
Self-Knowledge By Kahlil Gibran
The Invitation By Percy Bysshe Shelley
Untitled By Charles Cotton
A Pleasant Time Out By Stoddard
The Brook By Lord Tennyson
Unnamed By W.Pinkerton
The Auld Fisher's Farewell to the River Coquet By Thomas Doubleday
Excerpt from Beyond Time By Gwen Frostic
Words You Never Tell a Guide By Joseph Haywood
Mind Farts & Memory Exercises By Joseph Haywood
First Night at Camp Fish Head By Joseph Haywood
I Am the Flag of the United States of America
Untitled By Whitier
The Fisherman By Jack Schweigert
Retail Night Before Christmas By Al Campbell
Splitting Oak on Mother’s Day By Joe Heywood
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Fly Rod By Eugena Pilek
In Flanders Fields By John McCrae
Fisherman's Luck By Edward R. Hewitt
Happy Turkey Day By Al Campbell
The Story of The Christmas Guest By Helen Steiner Rice
Fishing By Edith Andrews Sturgis
August 25, 1971 - Jocko River above Arlee, Montana By Brian Ahern
Mr. Cortland By Cole Martin
Fishing By Edith Andrews Sturgis
A Midwinter Reflection By Russ Larsen (Bassbugg)
Christmas Bells By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A Trout Angler's Prayer At Christmas By Reverend Daniel P. Adams
An Old Scottish Poem
Voices in the Wall, Requiem 3 By Stev Lenon
In Honor of Memorial Day 2006
Little Brown Wink By G.E.M. Skues
In Flanders Fields By John McCrae
The Little Things By Richard A. (Dick) Taylor


More:
  • Cianca Cartoons
  • Croft's Cartoons
  • J.Ohman Cartoons
  • Humor and more . . .
  • Pratt Cartoons


  • [ HOME ]

    [ Search ] [ Contact FAOL ] [ Media Kit ]

    FlyAnglersOnline.com © Notice


    [ HOME ]

    [ Search ] [ Contact FAOL ] [ Media Kit ]

    FlyAnglersOnline.com © Notice