First Fly....

The Magic Flybox

Once, long ago, I used to carry all my flies, inside an old tin box,
it survived a lot of drownings, and being dropped upon the rocks,
it only held about fifty flies, but this made the choice less hard,
that old battered dented fly box, really was my calling card.

When I arrived upon the water, the regulars would always grin,
"here comes that kid with the battered gear, and flies in an old tin".
this quite good natured banter often made me wish I had good gear,
and as I got older, but no wiser, I gave in to this impulse I fear.

Years later, I marched into a shop, and bought the finest box I found,
even after all this time, it has no dents, and has not been drowned.
It holds a couple of hundred flies, all the latest ties and trends,
but it is not quite the same somehow, my old tin box and I were
friends.

When I was wondering what to do, or what fly at last to mount,
for some strange reason, on my old tin box, I could always count,
the limited range of patterns, sitting neatly stuck in rows of foam,
fooled hordes of fish in many waters, where I was wont to roam.

Now I catch a lot more fish of course, and I can now afford good gear,
but I often miss my old tin box, and the youthful dreams of
yesteryear.
I have quite a few fly-boxes now, some large and quite expensive,
but I think often of my old tin box, and then become quite pensive.

My old cane rods have long since gone, replaced by shiny plastic.
they do not have the same too heavy, and slow feel, but cast fantastic
Most of my old gear is gone now, I can not recall exactly where it
went,
but for years my old tin box still sat upon my desk, reminding me of
times well spent.

Strange as well, when I opened it, and looked at the rows of well used
flies,
I remembered each and every fish I caught on them, could picture still
their lies,
I can not do this with my larger boxes, many of the flies therein are
new,
there are hundreds of them, and as I said, my old tin box had but a
few.

We moved house some years ago, and when we unpacked our stuff at last,
my old tin box could not be found, it too was now part of things long
past,
I still have the memories of course, good job these weren´t kept in a
tin,
but I still wonder if my old tin box is working still, or landed
simply in the bin.

I can picture it exactly in my mind, and still see the rows of well
used flies,
all I have to do is sit a moment, and think back awhile, and close my
eyes
often when I can not sleep, I visualise the box, and all the fish it
caught for me,
and I drift gently off to sleep, my box transports me then to dreaming
happily.

If you own such a magic box, take care of it, for such a box is very
hard to find,
some never own a box like this, and others may, but to its magic then
are blind.
a worthless piece of tin some think, not fit for use upon the lakes
and streams
poor souls, they never realise that such a box is not for flies, it is
for dreams.

Tight lines! ~ Mike Connor