Just My Two Cents worth...
My passion for fishing I inherited from my family, Grandpa Ernie and my father in particular. For this gift... I will always be grateful.
“Third Generation Fanatic”
Remember waking at O-dark-thirty ensuring first water on your favorite stretch of stream or lake? A misty fog hovering just a few feet over the water as the boat effortlessly cuts through. The call of a loon or the drumming of Ruffed Grouse, maybe Geese over head on their annual migration. The song of a whippoorwill. The smell of water lilies in bloom or wild flowers on the bank of your favorite stream. Anticipation of the hook-up, the fight, the release, an image in the mind’s eye of many fish below us as they stealth through the water in absolute silence. Oblivious to our world, as we are to theirs. Examining the conditions of one cast or presentation that produced fish, and wondering why the 100+ previous did not. The numbing cold of early spring and late Fall on the Steelhead Rivers. Fingers numb with cold, leaving them unable to manage a simple leader knot. Chipping ice off your fly rod eyelets after every cast, and saying to yourself “God I love this” and really meaning it…
These are just a few the fishing memories I carry with me. I learned early in life that fishing is much more than just spending time on the water… It’s for me at least, the whole experience, nature, camaraderie amongst friends and relatives, watching your children catch their first fish... Yes, I’m a Fishing fanatic….
Looking back, I have to wonder how it came to be that I, a small town boy from Iowa, got caught up in this whole Fly-fishing thing. I had always been quite content to slide a fat worm on a hook, and watch the float bob on the water. Of course those were simpler times. I had no big responsibilities and plenty of time to soak crawlers. As the years slipped by, I found myself with many more responsibilities, and much less time to spend fishing. Therefore, leaving me looking for ways to increase quality time on the waters I would fish. So here I am now, a certifiable and complete Fly-Fishing fanatic…
I think my fascination with the sport of fly-fishing came to light while living in Colorado. You see, every weekend that I was able to get away I would head up in the Mountains to fish the South Plate River on the Continental Divide. With my Zebco 33 and a can of worms in hand off I’d go to try my luck. As I sat there on the banks of the Plate River, I would watch the stately gentlemen, who looked as though they had just stepped out of an L.L. Bean catalog, work their fly rods, I found it very intriguing the way these fishermen were able to shoot the line so far with just one or two false casts.
It was then, I suppose, I decided to try this thing called Fly-fishing. Upon purchasing a Fly rod and some streamer flies, I once again made my way up the mountain, where I promptly beat the water to a milky froth with my new-found skill. I came to realize, it’s not as easy as it looks… Go figure…well I worked at it for a few years and my casting improved, but I don’t think I caught many Trout if any at all.
Just a few years after purchasing my first fly rod I relocated to Washington State. It was there I hooked up with avid fly-fishermen, who had made their transition from worms to flies some years previous. We all had the opportunity to attend a Fly-fishing clinic/seminar, given by Randall Kaufmanns (Kaufmann’s Streamborn) in Oregon. It was this three-day Seminar that brought most all of the pieces of the fly-fishing puzzle together for me. We were instructed on such fly-fishing methods as: understanding the different categories of water and fishing them correctly, tying flies, streamside entomology/aquatic insect identification, and so much more…Appling these new found skills on the Rivers of the Pacific Northwest for Ocean run Steelhead and Salmon, was by far one of the most gratifying event in fishing I have ever experienced... Kaufmanns (Kaufmann’s Streamborn) in Oregon. It was this three-day Seminar that brought most all of the pieces of the fly-fishing puzzle together for me. We were instructed on such fly-fishing methods as: understanding the different categories of water and fishing them correctly, tying flies, streamside entomology/aquatic insect identification, and so much more…
Appling these new found skills on the Rivers of the Pacific Northwest for Ocean run Steelhead and Salmon, was by far one of the most gratifying event in fishing I have ever experienced... Kaufmanns (Kaufmann’s Streamborn) in Oregon. It was this three-day Seminar that brought most all of the pieces of the fly-fishing puzzle together for me. We were instructed on such fly-fishing methods as: understanding the different categories of water and fishing them correctly, tying flies, streamside entomology/aquatic insect identification, and so much more…Appling these new found skills on the Rivers of the Pacific Northwest for Ocean run Steelhead and Salmon, was by far one of the most gratifying event in fishing I have ever experienced...
Only you can decide what level you will take you’re fishing skills to, but if it is Fly-fishing, I recommend becoming involved with a local fly-fishing club or organization. Also watch for local fly-fishing seminars or fishing clinics, or hire a fly fishing guide for a day… I have been Fly-fishing over 25 years now, believe me; I still have a great deal to learn.
Still looking back... I suppose it was inevitable, that I would become fishing and hunting fanatic. It’s in my nature, perhaps even a natural progression. You see I come from a family of Outdoorsmen & conservation minded people. I’m what you might call, “Third Generation Fanatic”.