Tuesday, August 28, 2007

A fine day for a parade.

I do believe I have caught the bug. I can't stop with the fly fishing. Enough with the fly fishing. But I have really enjoyed myself this summer a Rocky River. I fished alone the entire time. I felt a connection with something, although it's hard to explain without sounding like that old hippie at the party that won't leave you alone.

Interesting accusation that comes up with the sport:

class·ism
.
Bias based on social or economic class

I haven't felt it, at least around here. What is hard to not notice is that although not a "rich" sport, there sees to be a dominant attitude that you have to "pay to play" because if you don't "pay" you aren't actually really "playing" in other words you have to spend alot of money on a rod and reel and line to really "be" fly "fishing". enough quotes...just a feeling that has followed me around a bit, and I can't say either way if I've officially "played" but I have had alot of fun so I thought I would write a summary:


This was a very dry summer and the river levels dropped significantly. Where I was once wading in thigh high water turned into ankle high then toe high. The deeper holes which really became not all that deep held most of the fish. Muddler minnows in 6-10 worked the best for me and it got to the point where that's all that worked. But the smallmouth love them like an aquatic dorito flailing on top of the water. I netted my biggest on Fathers Day when it happened I thought it was a smaller fish there was a slight pause then I realized it was more than I thought. My 6wt rod held up to its first real test and I had bought a $10 digital camera that morning just because if fit in my vest pocket. The camera takes terrible pictures. It reminds me of shots on the news of someone robbing a gas station. But, you get the idea...this smallmouth robbed a gas station.
There were a ton of carp in Rocky River this summer and they were tailing around like freaks all day. I heard that is the time to try and catch them. But I used to feed them twinkies and nutter butters and some sort of pellets out of a gumball machine when I was a kid and quite honestly I'm not ready for them. At one point I was standing still in knee high clear water and I looked down and there were 10 carp forming a semi circle around me looking up at me with their newborn baby lips, waiting for me to tell a joke, or wondering if I had a snickers or a half eaten corn on the cob in my pocket. (this is coming from someone who knows nothing about carp, so take it in stride). I have heard that a carp on a fly rod is one of the most exhilarating things around, but I'm not ready for exhilaration. I'm still working on determination and dealing with humiliation.
There will be steelhead in rocky river in about a month or so and there are already braveheart-ian cries of "CHROME!" and the response is "TOTALLY FUCKING CHROME!!!". It's good for fishing it's good for the sport, but can get a tad extreme. I fished Rocky River all summer and only really met one guy on the water..I mean hours an hours of having it all to myself. It's hard not to appreciate that and after a while get used to that., Me and the herons, and river otter who looks like a mentally challenged cocker spaniel and a jogger here and there and really that was it. It's about to get wild and crowded..I was thinking a corporate sponsor was in order, like huge banners over the fords that said "steelhead brought to you by Coors Light" complete with a d.j. and wacky contest.....so maybe I'll stay away, maybe not. I just bought an 8wt and that automatically guarantees that I will catch a steelhead doesn't it?
Fished the Grand River and it was unreal how beautiful it was, the serenity was almost overwhelming. I told a friend of mine I was waiting for a unicorn to come out of the woods and shoot a rainbow out of it's ass. Not a very successful day but sighted some small bass and got one to bite. He was the size of a small chicken tender I felt embarrassed to have put him through such an ordeal for my own benefit. I apologized when I set him free.
I am a committed fly fisher these days and never thought I would be. But once it all clicked, it did and everything became more enjoyable, I felt more connected with what I was doing....what I was doing was accepting the humility and embracing the discoveries and feeling like a kid again full of wide eyed possibilities. Catching fish became less and less important because if you really stop and absorb everything that is happening in the early mornings on a body of water, you appreciate the invitation to the symphony around you and it's a reminder that life can be poignantly simple, and eloquently beautiful... when you allow it to be. The fish just brings you back to reality.

1 Comments:

At 4:12 PM, Blogger Jeepjon said...

I found that same feeling with fly fishing. When it all comes together, any other fishing doesn't seem the same. The solitude, the peace...that is what fly fishing is for me. You can be along with God's beautiful creation, performing the skill of the cast with a small piece of art you tied. Just wait until you get a 20 degree day to yourself on the river with a fresh blanket of snow. Now THAT is solitude.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home