thought you'll can relate. words from Pete,
PS my final coat of varnish goes on my bamboo rod today, what a beauty,
I use to hurry to the stream and hope someone was not on that special spot.
But now its very different.
The little things that surround my fishing trip have become much more important. a nice walking stick - nothing fancy, just a nice balanced stick (which I also use as a wading staff) with the tooth marks from my dog. Don't ask me why but it seems those tooth marks have value and give a nice connection to a good friend. I have a beat up thermos with coffee that has a nice sling that I carry across my back. I enjoy the feeling of the Rod in one hand and my walking stick in the other and now more than ever I enjoy the simple long walk down the wooded trail that leads to the stream. and no longer do I stop at the first fish I see, I keep going and I enjoy the "fishermans trail" that seems to be on every river... and the walk is beautiful, the sound of the water, the trees, the mountain laurel or azalia or rhodendrun..whatever lines the trail. I enjoy walking till I'm past the usual spots and I wander till I find a wadeable piece of water, I no longer think of being a hero to get to tricky spots ...its just easy wading water with a nice slope at the bank. I no longer just walk in to the water... I tend to look for a place to sit, open the thermos and have a little coffee and watch the water. Just watch how the currents are working.. waiting to see if something reveals itself while I sip away. sometimes its not even a fish but a muskrat or beaver, other times it might be a cool woodpecker on a dead tree and every now and then a fish might show itself. I enjoy sitting and watching almost as much as I enjoy the actual fishing. and a hot cup of coffee is a nice thing. I find that I no longer rush my casts, I just enter into the water and just take my time covering one spot at a time. I'm amazed that by slowing down my fishing tempo that I seem to find that the quality of the fish I catch is much better.
I know that I'm rambling but as I'm thinking about fishing I'm realizing that I'm becoming a very different type of fisherman ... maybe age is making me crazy but I'm at the point where I enjoy my walking stick almost as much as my flyrod. |