It was New Years day and my Niece came over early. No lazy
day and football for Old Rupe. It's let's borrow your old Leonard
and some midges and let's fish the flats above the bridge. If she
wasn't my favorite niece and didn't put the Tommy Hefflinger
model to shame she wouldn't even know I had a cane rod. She
knows how to do things. She starts medical school in June and
has a couple of months to wait. She works at night as a hostess
in a restaurant and spends the day on the river with the rod. She
drives a four-wheel drive thing and does the outdoor bit. Quite
a girl. Few can use a rod well enough to borrow my Leonard.
My time as a fly fisherman is almost over. I'm now 59 and I realize
I no longer can do what I used to. I see myself in her as she fishes
aggressively three or four miles of river before noon and returns to
the truck with that glow on her cheeks that says it all.
" Tio the fish were easy today," she said as she returned to the truck.
I couldn't fish with her as my foot was really laid up big time, but I
went anyway. I have a portable TV I plug into the cigarette lighter
and since she drives I can drink a Foster Lager and watch the games
while she molests the trout. Really not a bad act. Each of us had a good
day. My foot is getting better each day and by May I hope to be back
on the river.
We fish a narrow river and she prefers a slower rod to fish it. A thirty
foot cast is a long cast on my river. We use an 18 ft leader and small
flies to do our thing.
It's the passing of the guard. I tie the flies and she now wears the felt
off the boots. I try to show her what I can of my sport. I'm afraid to
show her salmon as that could be worse than crack cocaine. She
already practices with my 9 wt Gatti and my m-4 reel every 2 weeks
or so on the river downtown. She complains that she will have arms
that are too big. I told her that some day she would find someone to
fish with, and if not, God willing those trout and salmon will still
be there for her.
I keep telling her salmon fishing is not cheap and even though she
just completed pre-med, salmon will strain even a specialists budget.
She thinks she would like to catch a salmon on one of the old
bamboo salmon rods. A Leonard or such. I have asked Ron Kusse to
look for a rod for me, who better to evaluate a rod for the situation?
When I get the reel from Stan she will have a Bogdan to go with the rod.
The new age is hers. I told her go for it. Fish hard for who knows what
will be available in the future. She is going to have to learn to tie her
own flies. I won't be around forever.
A new millennium for a new fisher. Never forget the old ways. I really
tried to tell it like it was. Next I will try to show her how to tie a fly.
Always try to wear out your fly rod, and loose all your flies. The best
epitaph is "He used up all of his stuff before he died." I hope I make it.
I'm working at it and if I don't do it maybe Sandra will.
Old Rupe
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