Patience

Last Wednesday was a gorgeous spring day.  I spent a few hours on a local creek and had a lot of fun catching some pretty small fish.  I caught Spotted Bass, Bluegill, Longear Sunfish, and a few other species.  

When I first got on the water, I was discouraged due to the creek still being cloudy from a recent rain; but I kept on fishing . . . and fishing . . . Trying different patterns and retrieval techniques and finally a Spotted Bass gave me a take.

After that one little fish, I started catching many different species of fish.  Now, if you ever caught a Longear Sunfish, you know how beautiful they are - their bodies are a deep forest green from the dorsal area, brightening down into sunny yellow at the belly.  From their jaws, streaks of fluorescent white-hot blue and red trickle down, tapering off into luminous spots.  The colors stand out like brilliant flashes of lightning against a stormy grey sky - certainly worth a double take.  

If we do take it all in - listening for whispers of the wind through the trees, the bubbling waters of the of the creek and delighting in every fish we catch - we will never be disappointed.  Indeed, just because we are not catching monsters and mutants like those we see all the time in those (often photoshopped) pictures online, doesn't mean we aren't doing any good.  

Be patient.  Don't sweat the small stuff, including the small fish.  A true fly fisherman would think a hard-fighting, eight inch Bluegill or a two pound Spotted Bass from the creek as much a trophy as a six pound Largemouth from a managed farm pond.  It's just like taking a fifteen inch brook trout from a small creek over a twenty inch rainbow from a large river in Alaska.  

Bigger can be fun, but it is not always better.  So don't sweat the small fish, enjoy them!  Fish all the time.  Fish tough spots to improve your cast and approach.  If you get tangled, try again and be patient.  The more patient you are, the more fish you will catch.  The more fish you catch, the more big fish you'll eventually have under your belt.  Do your due diligence and that trophy will come to you.  

Thanks for reading.  

Tight lines,

Daniel

Looking Forward, Pointing Behind

The other day I was hiking down to the river on a little-known trail.  It was beautiful, covered in moss and rose high above the water and peaked on top of a cliff.  Then, it got steep. I was overwhelmed by the excitement and beauty of it all that I got careless on my way back down to the river.  The ground was slick, I was wearing my waders and holding my 9 foot 8 wt rod in hand.

I was talking/shouting across river at my friends who had taken the other path down to the spot we were going to fish, telling them what a gorgeous site they were missing.  And as I made my way down the steep path, I started to slide.  Then I tried to shuffle my feet to regain control but couldn't stop.  My friends watched in horror from the river below as I helplessly began to tumble down the path.  There were trees everywhere, and I was headed straight for one of them.  I braced myself as I knew I was about splinter a leg against the tree or worse.  Just a few feet away from the certain serious injury, I plopped down in the dirt with one final attempt to stop myself.  It all happened so fast, I can hardly explain it; but, somehow, this move shifted my course just to the left of the tree, barely missing it. 

After I skidded to a stop past the tree, I knew I was just fine, but was my rod?  I had been holding it by the cork grip the entire time, with the rod tip pointed back - just as I was taught to do.  Still, I thought surely my "big fish" rod was a goner, but it wasn't.  I glanced over to my right, my hand was still tightly clutching the grip, and the the rod ran uphill behind me, all in one piece! 

This is a real life example why you should always carry your rod by the grip with the tip pointing behind you.  If you do this, you don't even have to think about it - the rod just bounces off of everything.  Not only did it save my rod, but it also likely contributed to my ability to regain control during the fall.  And this allowed me to avoid serious injury.  So ALWAYS, ALWAYS keep that rod tip pointed behind you when on the walk or hike down to the water, not only is it good for the rod but it could save you a broken bone or two.