An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

A fishing life offers all sorts of opportunities for mini-epiphanies
and I've recently tripped over one that's worth mentioning.

"Why do we fish?" For all of us, it's more than just catching fish,
but the "catching" is always required somewhere in the mix. The
social aspects plus the opportunity to innovate has always been much
higher than "catching", on my priority list. As is obvious with such
priorities, my "catching" suffers. Frankly, I don't put nearly as
much effort into it as I should. But when I ask this hard question
again, am I ordering my priorities this way because they suit me or in
part because I don't want to make the effort to move beyond an average
level of "catching"? In other words, am I hiding behind my priorities
to save myself the bother of doing the "catching" right?

Enter the minimalist angler as a highly effective angler. I've always
loaded myself up with bulging vest, stuffed pockets, spare spools,
spare rods in the car, all precautions against not having the right
thing to satisfy picky trout. But this load of gear is really a
recognition that I haven't taken the time, haven't made the effort to
know what I'm doing. I have burdened myself physically with armloads
of gear to avoid having to take on the mental burden of selecting just
what is necessary and no more –- to avoid having to know what I'm
doing.

So here I am on Whitemans, wet wading, one small fly box, one spool of
tippet, one rod, one reel, and thinking about what I am actually doing
instead of just chucking the contents of multiple flyboxes at
unimpressed fish. Before I left the house, I had decided where I
would fish using the right bug for that water, time of day, and at
that point in the season. Bingo, epiphany time. By forcing a
minimalist approach, I have to really know what I'm doing as there's
no margin for error. I've stripped away the excuses, the multiple
flybox crutches, and faced the fish armed with a handful of flies and
my wits. Stripped of the superfluous gear, I'm reading water,
examining bugs, search bankside bushes, catching fish, and in the
process, discover that there's an amazing mental clarity to the
minimalist approach.

Is it more fun? You betchya.

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

I fade back and forth from carrying tons of gear to next to
nothing...somtimes my shirt pockets are all that I fill and other times it's
my entire angling bag....I prefer minimalist, but when I'm having a rough
time I end to carry everything known to man just in case.

Tim Apple

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

I fade back and forth from carrying tons of gear to next to
nothing...somtimes my shirt pockets are all that I fill and other times it's
my entire angling bag....I prefer minimalist, but when I'm having a rough
time I end to carry everything known to man just in case.

Tim Apple

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

"Peter Charles" wrote...
A fishing life offers all sorts of opportunities for mini-epiphanies
and I've recently tripped over one that's worth mentioning.

"Why do we fish?" For all of us, it's more than just catching fish,
but the "catching" is always required somewhere in the mix. The
social aspects plus the opportunity to innovate has always been much
higher than "catching", on my priority list. As is obvious with such
priorities, my "catching" suffers. Frankly, I don't put nearly as
much effort into it as I should. But when I ask this hard question
again, am I ordering my priorities this way because they suit me or in
part because I don't want to make the effort to move beyond an average
level of "catching"? In other words, am I hiding behind my priorities
to save myself the bother of doing the "catching" right?

Enter the minimalist angler as a highly effective angler. I've always
loaded myself up with bulging vest, stuffed pockets, spare spools,
spare rods in the car, all precautions against not having the right
thing to satisfy picky trout. But this load of gear is really a
recognition that I haven't taken the time, haven't made the effort to
know what I'm doing. I have burdened myself physically with armloads
of gear to avoid having to take on the mental burden of selecting just
what is necessary and no more -- to avoid having to know what I'm
doing.

So here I am on Whitemans, wet wading, one small fly box, one spool of
tippet, one rod, one reel, and thinking about what I am actually doing
instead of just chucking the contents of multiple flyboxes at
unimpressed fish. Before I left the house, I had decided where I
would fish using the right bug for that water, time of day, and at
that point in the season. Bingo, epiphany time. By forcing a
minimalist approach, I have to really know what I'm doing as there's
no margin for error. I've stripped away the excuses, the multiple
flybox crutches, and faced the fish armed with a handful of flies and
my wits. Stripped of the superfluous gear, I'm reading water,
examining bugs, search bankside bushes, catching fish, and in the
process, discover that there's an amazing mental clarity to the
minimalist approach.

Is it more fun? You betchya.

I've often thought about this myself, though I've yet to be driven enough to
take any action. Several modern pioneers of fly fishing have cursed Lee Wulff
for inventing the fishing vest for just that reason.

.. . . but it *does* seem a bit odd that such a gear whore can also be a minister
of the minimalist approach. :)
--
TL,
Tim
------------------------
http://css.sbcma.com/timj

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

Peter Charles wrote:

A fishing life offers all sorts of opportunities for mini-epiphanies
and I've recently tripped over one that's worth mentioning.

"Why do we fish?" For all of us, it's more than just catching fish,
but the "catching" is always required somewhere in the mix. The
social aspects plus the opportunity to innovate has always been much
higher than "catching", on my priority list. As is obvious with such
priorities, my "catching" suffers. Frankly, I don't put nearly as
much effort into it as I should. But when I ask this hard question
again, am I ordering my priorities this way because they suit me or in
part because I don't want to make the effort to move beyond an average
level of "catching"? In other words, am I hiding behind my priorities
to save myself the bother of doing the "catching" right?

Enter the minimalist angler as a highly effective angler. I've always
loaded myself up with bulging vest, stuffed pockets, spare spools,
spare rods in the car, all precautions against not having the right
thing to satisfy picky trout. But this load of gear is really a
recognition that I haven't taken the time, haven't made the effort to
know what I'm doing. I have burdened myself physically with armloads
of gear to avoid having to take on the mental burden of selecting just
what is necessary and no more –- to avoid having to know what I'm
doing.

So here I am on Whitemans, wet wading, one small fly box, one spool of
tippet, one rod, one reel, and thinking about what I am actually doing
instead of just chucking the contents of multiple flyboxes at
unimpressed fish. Before I left the house, I had decided where I
would fish using the right bug for that water, time of day, and at
that point in the season. Bingo, epiphany time. By forcing a
minimalist approach, I have to really know what I'm doing as there's
no margin for error. I've stripped away the excuses, the multiple
flybox crutches, and faced the fish armed with a handful of flies and
my wits. Stripped of the superfluous gear, I'm reading water,
examining bugs, search bankside bushes, catching fish, and in the
process, discover that there's an amazing mental clarity to the
minimalist approach.

Is it more fun? You betchya.

When you can sit down to the vise, tie up two identical dry flies,
put one on the brim of your hat and the other on the end of your
tippet, then walk down to the stream at precisely the right time
KNOWING that you'll catch as many fish as you care to, that's a
minmalist approach. Of course, if you live right on the stream you
know the flies of the season and have naturals to copy just by
picking them off the screen door. It's quite a bit harder for the
"weekend warrior" who has to travel to the stream.

Damn, I miss Montana.

--
Ken Fortenberry

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

Peter Charles wrote:

A fishing life offers all sorts of opportunities for mini-epiphanies
and I've recently tripped over one that's worth mentioning.

"Why do we fish?" For all of us, it's more than just catching fish,
but the "catching" is always required somewhere in the mix. The
social aspects plus the opportunity to innovate has always been much
higher than "catching", on my priority list. As is obvious with such
priorities, my "catching" suffers. Frankly, I don't put nearly as
much effort into it as I should. But when I ask this hard question
again, am I ordering my priorities this way because they suit me or in
part because I don't want to make the effort to move beyond an average
level of "catching"? In other words, am I hiding behind my priorities
to save myself the bother of doing the "catching" right?

Enter the minimalist angler as a highly effective angler. I've always
loaded myself up with bulging vest, stuffed pockets, spare spools,
spare rods in the car, all precautions against not having the right
thing to satisfy picky trout. But this load of gear is really a
recognition that I haven't taken the time, haven't made the effort to
know what I'm doing. I have burdened myself physically with armloads
of gear to avoid having to take on the mental burden of selecting just
what is necessary and no more –- to avoid having to know what I'm
doing.

So here I am on Whitemans, wet wading, one small fly box, one spool of
tippet, one rod, one reel, and thinking about what I am actually doing
instead of just chucking the contents of multiple flyboxes at
unimpressed fish. Before I left the house, I had decided where I
would fish using the right bug for that water, time of day, and at
that point in the season. Bingo, epiphany time. By forcing a
minimalist approach, I have to really know what I'm doing as there's
no margin for error. I've stripped away the excuses, the multiple
flybox crutches, and faced the fish armed with a handful of flies and
my wits. Stripped of the superfluous gear, I'm reading water,
examining bugs, search bankside bushes, catching fish, and in the
process, discover that there's an amazing mental clarity to the
minimalist approach.

Is it more fun? You betchya.

When you can sit down to the vise, tie up two identical dry flies,
put one on the brim of your hat and the other on the end of your
tippet, then walk down to the stream at precisely the right time
KNOWING that you'll catch as many fish as you care to, that's a
minmalist approach. Of course, if you live right on the stream you
know the flies of the season and have naturals to copy just by
picking them off the screen door. It's quite a bit harder for the
"weekend warrior" who has to travel to the stream.

Damn, I miss Montana.

--
Ken Fortenberry

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

Peter Chales wrote:snipEnter the minimalist angler as a highly effective
angler. I've always
loaded myself up with bulging vest, stuffed pockets, spare spools,
spare rods in the car, all precautions against not having the right
thing to satisfy picky trout.

I have often and for many decades thought that I should drive from Dallas to
Yellowstone while carrying and fishing only soft hackle flies and each time, I
just can't make myself do that. Each time I catch a nice trout on a hopper or
beetle, I know I made the right decision again. I guess my balls are just too
small. Most of the time the room befind the seat of the pickup is full of
flyboxes. It is surprising how many flyboxes I carry on a motorcycle on those
other years.

Big Dale

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

On 6 Aug 2004 07:55:07 -0700, (Peter Charles)
wrote:

SNIP

Enter the minimalist angler as a highly effective angler. I've always
loaded myself up with bulging vest, stuffed pockets, spare spools,
spare rods in the car, all precautions against not having the right
thing to satisfy picky trout. But this load of gear is really a
recognition that I haven't taken the time, haven't made the effort to
know what I'm doing. I have burdened myself physically with armloads
of gear to avoid having to take on the mental burden of selecting just
what is necessary and no more –- to avoid having to know what I'm
doing.

So here I am on Whitemans, wet wading, one small fly box, one spool of
tippet, one rod, one reel, and thinking about what I am actually doing
instead of just chucking the contents of multiple flyboxes at
unimpressed fish. Before I left the house, I had decided where I
would fish using the right bug for that water, time of day, and at
that point in the season. Bingo, epiphany time. By forcing a
minimalist approach, I have to really know what I'm doing as there's
no margin for error. I've stripped away the excuses, the multiple
flybox crutches, and faced the fish armed with a handful of flies and
my wits. Stripped of the superfluous gear, I'm reading water,
examining bugs, search bankside bushes, catching fish, and in the
process, discover that there's an amazing mental clarity to the
minimalist approach.

Is it more fun? You betchya.

Funny you mention this...I've just returned from Colorado, and on
several days of fishing, all wading wet, I never had more fishing gear
with me than one rod and reel, a single spool of tippet, a coupla-few
flies (usually tied right before the day's fishing - I was losing a
couple a day to the willows in the SMALL streams), a Victorinox knife,
and hemostats (which got sole use in an on-stream lighter repair).

Perhaps the most telling thing about it was going into town(s) for lunch
or other breaks, and seeing guides loading up sports, all wadered- and
vested-up, with the sports looking at us like we were crazy and us
looking at them similarly.

I did notice that many of those wasting their time casting to the hogs
at the public area below the Taylor Reservoir Dam were geared/kitted to
the nines, including a couple in a convertible Porsche. It occurred to
me that gear, knowledge, and ability had nothing to do with one another.
When I waded out once (again, wet, and sans gear) to take a picture of
some of the fish, they looked at me pretty harshly G.

As usual, I had a blast, and it appeared the sports were, too, so I
guess it is a to-each-their-own type of thing...

TC,
R

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

A fishing life offers all sorts of opportunities for mini-epiphanies
and I've recently tripped over one that's worth mentioning.

Anti-epiphany - what good is it being a gear whore without being able to
show everyone what a good gear whore you are by wearing a 30 lb vest?
Sheesh. Some people have no respect for the rules. 'Sides, without that
heavy vest, you can easily float down stream in the feeding duck position.

--
Frank Reid
Reverse email to reply

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

A fishing life offers all sorts of opportunities for mini-epiphanies
and I've recently tripped over one that's worth mentioning.

Anti-epiphany - what good is it being a gear whore without being able to
show everyone what a good gear whore you are by wearing a 30 lb vest?
Sheesh. Some people have no respect for the rules. 'Sides, without that
heavy vest, you can easily float down stream in the feeding duck position.

--
Frank Reid
Reverse email to reply

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

you "can't" easily float down stream in the feeding duck position.

--
Frank Reid
Reverse email to reply

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

you "can't" easily float down stream in the feeding duck position.

--
Frank Reid
Reverse email to reply

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

Frank Reid wrote:
Anti-epiphany - what good is it being a gear whore without being able to
show everyone what a good gear whore you are by wearing a 30 lb vest?
Sheesh. Some people have no respect for the rules. 'Sides, without that
heavy vest, you can easily float down stream in the feeding duck position.

I carry a vest *and* a day pack.

--
Rusty Hook
Laramie, Wyoming

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

Frank Reid wrote:
Anti-epiphany - what good is it being a gear whore without being able to
show everyone what a good gear whore you are by wearing a 30 lb vest?
Sheesh. Some people have no respect for the rules. 'Sides, without that
heavy vest, you can easily float down stream in the feeding duck position.

I carry a vest *and* a day pack.

--
Rusty Hook
Laramie, Wyoming

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

On Fri, 6 Aug 2004 14:55:23 -0400, "Frank Reid"
moc.deepselbac@diersicnarf wrote:

you "can't" easily float down stream in the feeding duck position.

Well, either way, anyone with any sense would defer to your
expertise...G

TC,
R

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

On Fri, 6 Aug 2004 14:55:23 -0400, "Frank Reid"
moc.deepselbac@diersicnarf wrote:

you "can't" easily float down stream in the feeding duck position.

Well, either way, anyone with any sense would defer to your
expertise...G

TC,
R

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

Peter Charles wrote:
A fishing life offers all sorts of opportunities for mini-epiphanies
and I've recently tripped over one that's worth mentioning.

When I'm out camping or rafting in a remote spot, my custom in the
evening is to take a rod, a reel, a line, and one fly, or sometimes I'll
cheat a bit with a small flybox in my shirt pocket. No tippet, no
hemostats, no net, no vest, no water bottle, no bug repellent, no
floatant, no waders, no nothing but what I absolutely need. It tends to
focus my concentration on the task at hand.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

rdean wrote:snipPerhaps the most telling thing about it was going into town(s)
for lunch
or other breaks, and seeing guides loading up sports, all wadered- and
vested-up, with the sports looking at us like we were crazy and us
looking at them similarly.

Before The Backwoods in Richardson closed a few years ago, The Roadkill
Roundtable tied there on Saturdays and the shop next door was The Bike Mart
and they had a poster in the window of a couple of guys in their gear on their
bikes and a couple of fly fishermen in their geer and everyone was scratching
their heads. The poster is still in the window of The Bike Mart. I guess it is
kind of the same feeling.

That part of Colorado around the Taylor River and The Gunnison has a special
place in my heart. Did you catch a few of those pretty cutthroat that grow in
some of the small streams around there?

The Roadkill Roundtable now meets on Saturdays in front of The White River Fly
Shop inside Bass Pro in Grapevine. If anyone is in the area tomorrow morning,
please bring your tools and join us to play for a while or just stop by and
shoot the ****. I suspect John and David will be tying flies for their upcoming
Colorado trip and Fred will be tying something he can use in Montana when he
goes there for the FFF Conclave in a couple of weeks. I think I will be
learning to tie Harry Steeves Firefly pattern as I have always wanted to tie it
and figure I can give the guys some they can leave in some brush somewhere in
The Rocky Mountain West.

Big Dale

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

rdean wrote:snipPerhaps the most telling thing about it was going into town(s)
for lunch
or other breaks, and seeing guides loading up sports, all wadered- and
vested-up, with the sports looking at us like we were crazy and us
looking at them similarly.

Before The Backwoods in Richardson closed a few years ago, The Roadkill
Roundtable tied there on Saturdays and the shop next door was The Bike Mart
and they had a poster in the window of a couple of guys in their gear on their
bikes and a couple of fly fishermen in their geer and everyone was scratching
their heads. The poster is still in the window of The Bike Mart. I guess it is
kind of the same feeling.

That part of Colorado around the Taylor River and The Gunnison has a special
place in my heart. Did you catch a few of those pretty cutthroat that grow in
some of the small streams around there?

The Roadkill Roundtable now meets on Saturdays in front of The White River Fly
Shop inside Bass Pro in Grapevine. If anyone is in the area tomorrow morning,
please bring your tools and join us to play for a while or just stop by and
shoot the ****. I suspect John and David will be tying flies for their upcoming
Colorado trip and Fred will be tying something he can use in Montana when he
goes there for the FFF Conclave in a couple of weeks. I think I will be
learning to tie Harry Steeves Firefly pattern as I have always wanted to tie it
and figure I can give the guys some they can leave in some brush somewhere in
The Rocky Mountain West.

Big Dale

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 15:21:10 -0600, rw
wrote:

Peter Charles wrote:
A fishing life offers all sorts of opportunities for mini-epiphanies
and I've recently tripped over one that's worth mentioning.

When I'm out camping or rafting in a remote spot, my custom in the
evening is to take a rod, a reel, a line, and one fly, or sometimes I'll
cheat a bit with a small flybox in my shirt pocket. No tippet, no
hemostats, no net, no vest, no water bottle, no bug repellent, no
floatant, no waders, no nothing but what I absolutely need. It tends to
focus my concentration on the task at hand.

You ****in' pussy! It's MY custom to go stark nekkid, with no gear
whatsoever. I use my large, always-rock-hard dick as a flyrod, and
weave line out of my manly patch of chesthair and leader from my
flowing, sun-kissed yet silk-like mane of hair. I don't need flies
because the fish are so grateful to get a fin on what others would pay a
fortune to merely touch that they bite and hold on to my silken leader.
Of course, being the gallant and magnanimous great American sportsman
that I am, I kiss them and release them with a hearty, "Via con Dios, my
piscine friend!" I have no need to focus my concentration and only need
to pay the merest intention because my incredible brain can concentrate
with laserlike focus on 1423 tasks at once. In fact, last time out, I
built 3 space shuttles with my toes, solved for Kreh times Pi to the nth
power cubed, found 2 blackholes with my eyes alone, and proved that my
good friend Elvis was still alive...

Brian K.

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 15:21:10 -0600, rw
wrote:

Peter Charles wrote:
A fishing life offers all sorts of opportunities for mini-epiphanies
and I've recently tripped over one that's worth mentioning.

When I'm out camping or rafting in a remote spot, my custom in the
evening is to take a rod, a reel, a line, and one fly, or sometimes I'll
cheat a bit with a small flybox in my shirt pocket. No tippet, no
hemostats, no net, no vest, no water bottle, no bug repellent, no
floatant, no waders, no nothing but what I absolutely need. It tends to
focus my concentration on the task at hand.

You ****in' pussy! It's MY custom to go stark nekkid, with no gear
whatsoever. I use my large, always-rock-hard dick as a flyrod, and
weave line out of my manly patch of chesthair and leader from my
flowing, sun-kissed yet silk-like mane of hair. I don't need flies
because the fish are so grateful to get a fin on what others would pay a
fortune to merely touch that they bite and hold on to my silken leader.
Of course, being the gallant and magnanimous great American sportsman
that I am, I kiss them and release them with a hearty, "Via con Dios, my
piscine friend!" I have no need to focus my concentration and only need
to pay the merest intention because my incredible brain can concentrate
with laserlike focus on 1423 tasks at once. In fact, last time out, I
built 3 space shuttles with my toes, solved for Kreh times Pi to the nth
power cubed, found 2 blackholes with my eyes alone, and proved that my
good friend Elvis was still alive...

Brian K.

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

. . . but it *does* seem a bit odd that such a gear whore can also be a minister
of the minimalist approach. :)

Well, if you saw the Diamondback Classic Trout and the limited edition
CFO, then you'd know that this was just the "subtle" phase of the
gearwhore syndrome. blither mode on . . . No, gearwhoredom has
not been rejected. No, the world has not inverted on its axis (to
which comment, the anthropologist in me says, "Europeans invented the
orientation of the globe as we know it, who says they got it right,
who says there's a right way anyway . . ." But I digress once again
-- minimalism is only a short cast away from nihilism, after all.
Where's Kant when you need him . . . .

[Now where did I put that aspen switch, I knew I put it around here
somewhere.]

blither mode off . . .

Peter

turn mailhot into hotmail to reply

Visit The Streamer Page at http://www.mountaincable.net/~pcharl...ers/index.html

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 15:20:30 GMT, Ken Fortenberry
wrote:



When you can sit down to the vise, tie up two identical dry flies,
put one on the brim of your hat and the other on the end of your
tippet, then walk down to the stream at precisely the right time
KNOWING that you'll catch as many fish as you care to, that's a
minmalist approach. Of course, if you live right on the stream you
know the flies of the season and have naturals to copy just by
picking them off the screen door. It's quite a bit harder for the
"weekend warrior" who has to travel to the stream.

Almost qualified then -- knew which fly would work but I took an
"experiment" along with me too. Damn, have to do better next time . .
..


Damn, I miss Montana.

Can't help you there.

Peter

turn mailhot into hotmail to reply

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An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 15:20:30 GMT, Ken Fortenberry
wrote:



When you can sit down to the vise, tie up two identical dry flies,
put one on the brim of your hat and the other on the end of your
tippet, then walk down to the stream at precisely the right time
KNOWING that you'll catch as many fish as you care to, that's a
minmalist approach. Of course, if you live right on the stream you
know the flies of the season and have naturals to copy just by
picking them off the screen door. It's quite a bit harder for the
"weekend warrior" who has to travel to the stream.

Almost qualified then -- knew which fly would work but I took an
"experiment" along with me too. Damn, have to do better next time . .
..


Damn, I miss Montana.

Can't help you there.

Peter

turn mailhot into hotmail to reply

Visit The Streamer Page at http://www.mountaincable.net/~pcharl...ers/index.html

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

On Fri, 6 Aug 2004 14:49:32 -0400, "Frank Reid"
moc.deepselbac@diersicnarf wrote:

A fishing life offers all sorts of opportunities for mini-epiphanies
and I've recently tripped over one that's worth mentioning.

Anti-epiphany - what good is it being a gear whore without being able to
show everyone what a good gear whore you are by wearing a 30 lb vest?
Sheesh. Some people have no respect for the rules. 'Sides, without that
heavy vest, you can easily float down stream in the feeding duck position.


See my reply to Tim J, in essence "Wade light, but carry an expensive
rod."

Peter

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An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 13:36:27 -0500, wrote:



As usual, I had a blast, and it appeared the sports were, too, so I
guess it is a to-each-their-own type of thing...

TC,
R


There has to be phases we go through in our level of encoutrementation
(to butcher a good French word).



Peter

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An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

You ****in' pussy! It's MY custom to go stark nekkid, with no gear
whatsoever. I use my large, always-rock-hard dick as a flyrod,

Ya, but I hear that you're only interested in suckers . . .

Peter

turn mailhot into hotmail to reply

Visit The Streamer Page at http://www.mountaincable.net/~pcharl...ers/index.html

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

You ****in' pussy! It's MY custom to go stark nekkid, with no gear
whatsoever. I use my large, always-rock-hard dick as a flyrod,

Ya, but I hear that you're only interested in suckers . . .

Peter

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An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

On 06 Aug 2004 21:28:53 GMT, ospam (Big Dale) wrote:

rdean wrote:snipPerhaps the most telling thing about it was going into town(s)
for lunch
or other breaks, and seeing guides loading up sports, all wadered- and
vested-up, with the sports looking at us like we were crazy and us
looking at them similarly.


That part of Colorado around the Taylor River and The Gunnison has a special
place in my heart. Did you catch a few of those pretty cutthroat that grow in
some of the small streams around there?

Yep. Spent almost the whole of the fishing time way up. There was one
stream so high up we only saw one other group of people (and they
weren't fishing - going to CB from Aspen over the pass). We stayed out
of the rivers for the most part (other than the private areas of the
Taylor, much of the Taylor, Gunnison, etc. would have been "dodge the
Duckie"...). The public area just below the Taylor Dam was, as usual,
always full of sport-types uselessly flailing away at the hogs (although
one lucky guy did get a hookup and landing). I've a few pics that I'll
post on ABPF when I can (I'll post a pointer on ROFF).

TC,
R

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

On 06 Aug 2004 21:28:53 GMT, ospam (Big Dale) wrote:

rdean wrote:snipPerhaps the most telling thing about it was going into town(s)
for lunch
or other breaks, and seeing guides loading up sports, all wadered- and
vested-up, with the sports looking at us like we were crazy and us
looking at them similarly.


That part of Colorado around the Taylor River and The Gunnison has a special
place in my heart. Did you catch a few of those pretty cutthroat that grow in
some of the small streams around there?

Yep. Spent almost the whole of the fishing time way up. There was one
stream so high up we only saw one other group of people (and they
weren't fishing - going to CB from Aspen over the pass). We stayed out
of the rivers for the most part (other than the private areas of the
Taylor, much of the Taylor, Gunnison, etc. would have been "dodge the
Duckie"...). The public area just below the Taylor Dam was, as usual,
always full of sport-types uselessly flailing away at the hogs (although
one lucky guy did get a hookup and landing). I've a few pics that I'll
post on ABPF when I can (I'll post a pointer on ROFF).

TC,
R

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 18:07:57 -0400, Peter Charles
wrote:


You ****in' pussy! It's MY custom to go stark nekkid, with no gear
whatsoever. I use my large, always-rock-hard dick as a flyrod,

Ya, but I hear that you're only interested in suckers . . .

Peter

Naw...but I DO catch my share of suckers...hell, some, like the Masked
Man from Ketchum, Jr. just jump in the boat...

Brian K.
BTW...anyone else wonder where Ernestine keeps his cape when astream a
la mode Wonder Woman...

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 18:07:57 -0400, Peter Charles
wrote:


You ****in' pussy! It's MY custom to go stark nekkid, with no gear
whatsoever. I use my large, always-rock-hard dick as a flyrod,

Ya, but I hear that you're only interested in suckers . . .

Peter

Naw...but I DO catch my share of suckers...hell, some, like the Masked
Man from Ketchum, Jr. just jump in the boat...

Brian K.
BTW...anyone else wonder where Ernestine keeps his cape when astream a
la mode Wonder Woman...

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 18:07:57 -0400, Peter Charles
wrote:


You ****in' pussy! It's MY custom to go stark nekkid, with no gear
whatsoever. I use my large, always-rock-hard dick as a flyrod,

Ya, but I hear that you're only interested in suckers . . .

Peter

Naw...but I DO catch my share of suckers...hell, some, like the Masked
Man from Ketchum, Jr. just jump in the boat...

Brian K.
BTW...anyone else wonder where Ernestine keeps his cape when astream a
la mode Wonder Woman...

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 17:34:06 -0500,
wrote:

On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 18:07:57 -0400, Peter Charles
wrote:


You ****in' pussy! It's MY custom to go stark nekkid, with no gear
whatsoever. I use my large, always-rock-hard dick as a flyrod,

Ya, but I hear that you're only interested in suckers . . .

Peter

Naw...but I DO catch my share of suckers...hell, some, like the Masked
Man from Ketchum, Jr. just jump in the boat...


I stand by my original statement. ;-)

Peter

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An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

"Peter Charles" wrote...
. . . but it *does* seem a bit odd that such a gear whore can also be a
minister
of the minimalist approach. :)

Well, if you saw the Diamondback Classic Trout . . .

Isn't that a SWEET rod?! I picked one up from Walt when they were on sale and am
really glad I did.
--
TL,
Tim
http://css.sbcma.com/timj

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

"Peter Charles" wrote...
. . . but it *does* seem a bit odd that such a gear whore can also be a
minister
of the minimalist approach. :)

Well, if you saw the Diamondback Classic Trout . . .

Isn't that a SWEET rod?! I picked one up from Walt when they were on sale and am
really glad I did.
--
TL,
Tim
http://css.sbcma.com/timj

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

On Sat, 07 Aug 2004 01:01:15 GMT, "Tim J."
wrote:


"Peter Charles" wrote...
. . . but it *does* seem a bit odd that such a gear whore can also be a
minister
of the minimalist approach. :)

Well, if you saw the Diamondback Classic Trout . . .

Isn't that a SWEET rod?! I picked one up from Walt when they were on sale and am
really glad I did.

Well, I came by mine sorta the same way, via uncle Wally, only he
didn't wanna give it up, and the Pirate had to concoct that story of
Waldo hitting his face on the wall, and well, I did pay for it 'n'
all. Waldo still sells me stuff though . . .

Nice guy that Waldo . . . even when he bitches about me havin' his
favourite rod . . . I don't tell him how many fish In catch with it
though . . . that'll be puttin' salt into all those wounds. They
should be healed by now, you'd think . . . I now make it a policy to
use only dressed lumber in rod purchase negotiations. . . bark makes
for some really nasty looking scabs . . .



Peter

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An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

Every time I have had an epiphany, I soon got a come-uppence. Just when I
thought I had things figured out, whammo the trout prove me wrong again. So,
after 50 years of flyfishing, I just take the good times with bad and enjoy
it all, cause the bad aren't bad at all. But, I have taken a minimalist
approach to the number of flies I carry. I'm a firm believer in general
shape and size with proper presentation. I carry goddard and elk-hair
caddis, a "gray thing" dry fly (similar to an adams) all in sizes 14-20 and
a few midge flies (mostly my own designs) in 22-26. I don't always get
them, but rarely is anyone else either, when I'm not.

Gene

"Peter Charles" wrote in message
om...
A fishing life offers all sorts of opportunities for mini-epiphanies
and I've recently tripped over one that's worth mentioning.

"Why do we fish?" For all of us, it's more than just catching fish,
but the "catching" is always required somewhere in the mix. The
social aspects plus the opportunity to innovate has always been much
higher than "catching", on my priority list. As is obvious with such
priorities, my "catching" suffers. Frankly, I don't put nearly as
much effort into it as I should. But when I ask this hard question
again, am I ordering my priorities this way because they suit me or in
part because I don't want to make the effort to move beyond an average
level of "catching"? In other words, am I hiding behind my priorities
to save myself the bother of doing the "catching" right?

Enter the minimalist angler as a highly effective angler. I've always
loaded myself up with bulging vest, stuffed pockets, spare spools,
spare rods in the car, all precautions against not having the right
thing to satisfy picky trout. But this load of gear is really a
recognition that I haven't taken the time, haven't made the effort to
know what I'm doing. I have burdened myself physically with armloads
of gear to avoid having to take on the mental burden of selecting just
what is necessary and no more -- to avoid having to know what I'm
doing.

So here I am on Whitemans, wet wading, one small fly box, one spool of
tippet, one rod, one reel, and thinking about what I am actually doing
instead of just chucking the contents of multiple flyboxes at
unimpressed fish. Before I left the house, I had decided where I
would fish using the right bug for that water, time of day, and at
that point in the season. Bingo, epiphany time. By forcing a
minimalist approach, I have to really know what I'm doing as there's
no margin for error. I've stripped away the excuses, the multiple
flybox crutches, and faced the fish armed with a handful of flies and
my wits. Stripped of the superfluous gear, I'm reading water,
examining bugs, search bankside bushes, catching fish, and in the
process, discover that there's an amazing mental clarity to the
minimalist approach.

Is it more fun? You betchya.

An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

On Sat, 07 Aug 2004 02:36:27 GMT, "Gene Cottrell"
wrote:

Every time I have had an epiphany, I soon got a come-uppence. Just when I
thought I had things figured out, whammo the trout prove me wrong again. So,
after 50 years of flyfishing, I just take the good times with bad and enjoy
it all, cause the bad aren't bad at all. But, I have taken a minimalist
approach to the number of flies I carry. I'm a firm believer in general
shape and size with proper presentation. I carry goddard and elk-hair
caddis, a "gray thing" dry fly (similar to an adams) all in sizes 14-20 and
a few midge flies (mostly my own designs) in 22-26. I don't always get
them, but rarely is anyone else either, when I'm not.

Gene

No illusiopns, no illusions at all. I figure if I get it right more
than half the time, I'm doin' OK.



Peter

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An epiphany on the road to Whitemans
 

Take out the dirty commie *******s to reply wrote:
On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 15:21:10 -0600, rw
wrote:


You ****in' pussy! It's MY custom to go stark nekkid, with no gear
whatsoever.

That's an unwise choice, because you need some clothes to cover up your
tiny little pecker and your bitch tits.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.