Its Winter - More Thinking About Fishing Than Doing

The cold weather and seriously frozen water tends to restrict fly fishing around here. But the other day I was talking to my friend Thomas and he had a few things to say about the core of fly fishing - at least in his eyes. It was well said so I thought I would post it.

Over the years I have learned that we all enjoy fly tying, casting, floating, wading, witnessing nature at its finest, just being near the water with a handful of baubles lovingly made from feathers, furs, thread and perhaps too much glue. For me its not the fish I catch or don't catch, which may be hard to believe but its true. For me its the serenity, its the wee mornings of mist rising off a warm lake to the cold lake air, the sound of a distant chainsaw or the call of loons or the slap of a beavers tail to break the quiet glass like surface, the skittering of bugs waking up and skimming just above the lakes surface. I enjoy the long arcs of line in front in behind, the simple sounds of click and pawl fly reel pulling more line off to get that cast further than I have cast before, always reaching for the perfect cast that reaches further than i hoped or dreamed. its little things, i don't need to feel the tug of a fish but I consider that an extra. fly fishing and fly tying to me is more than just catching a fish or two. Its about forgetting about all my worries, all my wants, needs and anything that is going on in my life is all washed away. cleansing experience. Waiting out winter to do it all over again this spring, summer and fall is the most painfully cruel wait to feel the warmth of the sun and the sounds of a summer morning alone on a lake. Free. Thomas W.

Now can we get back to fishing - soon.