jaxflyfish
05-19-2008, 12:31 AM
I have a short story for you......
What a month I had. Job going away.....serious illness.....kids stressed....wife stressed beyond belief.........many of you have been there...many of you are there....
I had this crazy idea. I hadn't been fishing by myself for years. I had been pretty cranky around the house and when I suggested going to my wife...she started helping me get ready.....LOL.
With gas the way it is...I decided against going heavy. The trailer stayed at home...all my gear in boxes...I packed up and headed out. I have to stop for a moment here and put in a plug for my wife. The docs have me on this unbelievable diet...very difficult. My wonderful wife pre-makes me several meals. She shops and gets me a bunch of food I can eat. What a woman.
Finally on my way. I hit the Deschutes at about 3 pm at Trout Creek. Perfect timing from my perspective. I proceeded to get skunked. I fished through an amazing caddis hatch at dark with nary a hit. I realized how long it had been. My casts were rough...my ability to switch flies quickly has plummeted as I am in denial about needing glasses.
I needed a switch...I drove to the Crooked...parked the truck and climbed into the shell...oh and I grabbed some reading glasses along the way.
I slept better that night than I had slept in several months. I woke up refreshed. I hit it pretty hard....then I started to panic...wondering what in the world my problem was. I don't consider myself a great fly fisherman but I do feel that I am pretty competent..I started questioning everything. Flies, leader, presentation...on an on....still no fish......
Then....it happened.....a kid...first time with a fly rod. He started asking questions...what fly...where to cast etc. etc. I gave him a fly, walked him through the basics and watched him land two fish in 10 minutes. I was thrilled for him and at the same time, devastated. What was going on? I was still without a fish.
I slept pretty well again...still in the back of the truck. Still eating my wife's pre-made meals....still wondering what in the heck was wrong with my fishing...This was the worst slump I had ever had.
Then it hit me...I was worried about my fishing!! What a difference a few days make. I decided right then and there I was going about this all wrong. What a blessing it was to even be on the river. What a beautiful day, what an amazing place.
I tied some flies. Hit the river with a new attitude and a couple of things happened. I ran into one of the nicest fishermen I had ever met. He and his dad were on their annual trip and were having a blast. They freely shared their ideas, I shared some flies that I thought would work and I fished with them for most of the day. We had a great time, I caught some very nice fish as did they and we spent a lot of time laughing and telling stories.
It was the most relaxed I have been in a long time. On the drive home, I found myself thinking about new friends, some of the stories we shared and how glad I was that I had gone out there. The funny thing is..I realized that so little of this had anything to do with the fish....
What a month I had. Job going away.....serious illness.....kids stressed....wife stressed beyond belief.........many of you have been there...many of you are there....
I had this crazy idea. I hadn't been fishing by myself for years. I had been pretty cranky around the house and when I suggested going to my wife...she started helping me get ready.....LOL.
With gas the way it is...I decided against going heavy. The trailer stayed at home...all my gear in boxes...I packed up and headed out. I have to stop for a moment here and put in a plug for my wife. The docs have me on this unbelievable diet...very difficult. My wonderful wife pre-makes me several meals. She shops and gets me a bunch of food I can eat. What a woman.
Finally on my way. I hit the Deschutes at about 3 pm at Trout Creek. Perfect timing from my perspective. I proceeded to get skunked. I fished through an amazing caddis hatch at dark with nary a hit. I realized how long it had been. My casts were rough...my ability to switch flies quickly has plummeted as I am in denial about needing glasses.
I needed a switch...I drove to the Crooked...parked the truck and climbed into the shell...oh and I grabbed some reading glasses along the way.
I slept better that night than I had slept in several months. I woke up refreshed. I hit it pretty hard....then I started to panic...wondering what in the world my problem was. I don't consider myself a great fly fisherman but I do feel that I am pretty competent..I started questioning everything. Flies, leader, presentation...on an on....still no fish......
Then....it happened.....a kid...first time with a fly rod. He started asking questions...what fly...where to cast etc. etc. I gave him a fly, walked him through the basics and watched him land two fish in 10 minutes. I was thrilled for him and at the same time, devastated. What was going on? I was still without a fish.
I slept pretty well again...still in the back of the truck. Still eating my wife's pre-made meals....still wondering what in the heck was wrong with my fishing...This was the worst slump I had ever had.
Then it hit me...I was worried about my fishing!! What a difference a few days make. I decided right then and there I was going about this all wrong. What a blessing it was to even be on the river. What a beautiful day, what an amazing place.
I tied some flies. Hit the river with a new attitude and a couple of things happened. I ran into one of the nicest fishermen I had ever met. He and his dad were on their annual trip and were having a blast. They freely shared their ideas, I shared some flies that I thought would work and I fished with them for most of the day. We had a great time, I caught some very nice fish as did they and we spent a lot of time laughing and telling stories.
It was the most relaxed I have been in a long time. On the drive home, I found myself thinking about new friends, some of the stories we shared and how glad I was that I had gone out there. The funny thing is..I realized that so little of this had anything to do with the fish....