This is a thread to thank those who have allowed us to learn and grow with this fascinating sport??please join me?.so let me start?..
Back in the mid 80?s, I stumbled upon the 3M series of Fly Fishing shows on ESPN Outdoors. It was my very first exposure to this sport. I?d like to thank 3M and all those experts for putting together such an informative series that is still on store shelves today! They are timeless.
Still back in the late 80?s, my next thank you goes to a gentleman who stumbled upon me sprawled over on a fallen tree over my favorite stream.
He asked me what I was doing, and I told him I was watching a trout. He replied wouldn?t you rather be catching them? And he laughed and walked away.
He came upon me at that access point a few more times just staring into the water, and we eventually became friends. One day he offered to teach me how to cast a dry fly and read the water. And on that day, my fishing changed forever. I remember the bend had a magical presence to it that evening. The lowering sun showered the water with rays of light that made it glisten in the still evening air. He tied on a size 16 adams, and said have a seat on the bank and let?s wait a few minutes. Soon enough a hatch started, and fish started feeding directly above us. He got up and started teaching me the proper way to fish a dry fly. His teachings have worked everywhere I?ve gone. In fact, there are times when I am fearful I would forget them.
His name was Bill, and back then I?d say he was in his late 30?s early 40?s. He had a reddish brown lab that fished with him. We spent that one summer fishing together, and then that fall I had to focus on school, and in the following years I would spend the summers out of state. I didn?t get his number, and so just new him as Bill. I never realized how fortunate I was to get those casting lessons till today. He listened, and he shared?.two very rare qualities.
I have since gone back many times to that bend in the stream, only to find it eerily empty. There are fish there, but it?s as if that time with Bill could only happen once in this Universe, in that instance, and never again. Just like the waters we fish today will always be different tomorrow.
Anyhow, thank you Bill wherever you are, and I?m hoping it?s on a dirt path along a wild stream with rainbows the size of watermelons. Thank you.
My last thank you goes to my Uncle Enrico. Whose family I would visit for an entire three months during my summers out of school. Did I tell you they lived in B.C.! Thank you for taking the time in driving me to those lakes and streams up in the mountains in your minivan with your 12? rowboat in tow. They are some of my fondest memories, and they left long lasting impressions that I would have to admit shaped my outlook on life (and a curse on my fly fishing). You did all that just so I your nephew could fish even though you had very little interest in it (he was into snorkeling). Thank you!
Many more to be thankful for?..but it?s your turn?..enjoy! 
