"Conan The Librarian" wrote in message
...
Wolfgang wrote:

"Conan The Librarian" wrote in message
...

...and what did we find when nearing the trailhead, but Wolf back in the
stream catching fish. :-)
Well, not so much catching as fishing. Um.....truth to tell, not so
much fishing as casting. I DO love fly casting!

And it shows. :-) I hope to one day reach that point myself. And
actually, I did somewhat on the evening when you were "coaching" me.
Working with that long leader and casting across my body forced me to
abandon my preconceived notions (mostly gained from casting oversized
"flies" for bass), and "go with the flow". And of course it didn't hurt
that there were cooperative fish in the area. :-)

Catching fish is the ostensible raison d'etre of the whole exercise, to be
sure, and even I would have to raise a bemused eyebrow at a fly fisher who
claimed that he didn't like it when the fish bite because it interferes with
his fishing, but there is a great deal more to what Mr. Miller so incisively
refers to as "the mystery" than outwitting and outfighting a six inch brook
trout. But the attempt to outwit and outfight a six inch brook trout can,
done properly (well, for some of us anyway), encompass and even justify all
that is explicit and implicit in that mystery.....and, yeah, cooperative
fish are indeed a boon to the riparian philosopher.


Hey, that's right. Whatever happened to that photo, anyway? :-)
I'm checking over my list of lame excuses. I'll get back to you on that
pretty soon now.

No worries. It's just that I told Carol that there was *some* evidence
that my whole time there wasn't spent drinking beer around the campfire.
:-)

I believe I only have the one photo in which a fish is clearly and
indisputably identifiable. I'll send it, but I strongly advise saving it
for one of those times.....you know.

It's astonishing how easy fly fishing becomes when one assumes the role
of sage advisor and stands on the bank pontificating while the fish are
actively rising during a substantial hatch.

IIRC, you were actually stretched out on a boulder the size of a large
sofa....

And more comfortable than some sofas to which I've been subjected, although
I got a good night's sleep on one last night.

Anyway, the irony wasn't lost on me that after four solid days of
fishing, I caught the most and biggest fish of the trip within 40' of my
campsite, while being given casting advice and using a borrowed rod and
fly. :-)

Timing is the key element in casting with a fly rod. Cast when the fish are
indisputably hungry and actively doing something about it.

I figured the least I could do was try to catch one. :-)
Why every sniper has a spotter.

My only problem was I felt like I needed a semi-automatic to keep up
with the rises of the fish. :-)


Chuck Vance (of course that would have made C&R a bit more
difficult)

I'm pretty sure I had as much fun in the watching and jumping up and down as
you did in the catching.

Wolfgang