THE SENSE OF WONDER
Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not
understand:
The way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the
way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a maiden.
Proverbs 30:18-19
The hatch was heavy, and the surface of the stream was covered with a flotilla of large dark winged mayflies. Near a tussock of grass a large brown trout could be observed occasionally sipping in something from the surface of the water. It would seem obvious that this fine trout was feeding on the large mayflies that seemed to cover the entire surface of the water; however even a casual observer would quickly note that the large mayflies were not being eaten by this particular fish. As the large mayflies floated serenely pass, the large brown continued to leisurely rise to something on the surface. With my nose nearly in the water and my aquarium net in hand I stared at the surface looking for the answer, and there it was. The large mayflies were outnumbered by tiny winged red ants floating flush in the surface film. The ants were infinitesimal, size #22, and compared to the large mayflies they were like Lilliputians sailing among a sea of Gulliver’s, but this singular brown trout was selecting them out from among the much larger insects. I sat back in the grass amazed and mystified by this singular trout. What caused him to select these tiny ants in preference to the much larger mayflies?
It has been said that familiarity breeds contempt or indifference, and it is a challenge for us to maintain that sense of wonder that once accompanied every trip into the outdoors. Recently I stood in a grove of ancient trees, a grove of trees as beautiful as any cathedral created by the hands of man. Here was life and death comingled together in a blend of infinite beauty. The trunks of both the living and the dead trees were carpeted with a blanket of green, and the complexity of it all was overwhelming to the senses. High above the forest floor epiphytes; mosses, lichens, and ferns covered the branches of the living trees, and the fallen trunks of the ancient giants provided an elevated platform for young trees that would someday soar into the space vacated by the expired giant lying prostrate on the forest floor. Without the intervention of mankind this amazing forest has perpetuated itself since the dawn of time. I stood and took it all in with a sense of awe and wonder.
As anglers we are especially privileged to spend time in some of the most beautiful and awe inspiring places on this planet. Have you ever taken the time to watch a stonefly or a damsel fly nymph transform into an adult? Many years ago I stood in the dark beneath a bridge on the Yellowstone River in Montana and watched a Salmon Fly – Pteronarcys californica – crawl out of water and up the concrete abutment of the bridge where, over the next hour or so, it became a winged adult. The next day I watched as hundreds of these huge aquatic bugs emerged from the streamside vegetation to take flight. Wow, what a privilege to see such an exhibition, and similar things happen around us every day whether we are wading our favorite trout stream, floating on a bass lake, or standing in the wild churning surf along the ocean.
When was the last time that you stopped fishing long enough to watch the sunset, watch a doe and fawn slip down to the water to get a drink, or just sit and watch the wonders of nature unfold around you? When was the last time that you watched a osprey fishing, a heron stalking minnows in the shallows, or swallows swooping low over the water snatching midges from within inches of the surface? If you can’t remember the last time that you took the time to just soak in the wonders of the natural world it has been too long.
