![]() |
If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
|
#1
|
|||
|
|||
![]()
On Tue, 5 Oct 2004 19:37:07 -0400, "snakefiddler"
wrote: (s nipped) i don't know about that one-the cynical side of me imagines someone picking it up for the purpose of selling it- snake Maybe they need the money? I tend not to bother about that stuff unless I'm getting rid of a live animal. Then I like a bit of money so that I'm sure it's not some whacko or some medical experiment thing. But if I hand out change on the street and some guy thanks me (over half do) and says, "I won't use it for booze" (about 1/20th), I say, "I don't care what you use it for. It's a gift. It's yours now." and walk on. Sometimes leaving them staring blankly after me. It was one of the reasons I put in the loss of control part of just leaving it with a note. You'll never know what happens to it if you do it that way. Some people can't handle that. But you have to leave the note, because many of the nicest people won't touch something that they think someone might come back for. Cyli r.bc: vixen. Minnow goddess. Speaker to squirrels. Often taunted by trout. http://www.visi.com/~cyli |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
![]()
Tontine.
john (I've mentioned it before) "Barry" wrote in message ink.net... I spent over fifty years fly fishing with my dad before he died about three months ago. Both of us collected a lot of fly fishing gear over that period of time. When I inherited my dad's equipment, I found my den looking like a small tackle shop. I've also found that I really don't need all of that equipment. I have a question and ask for some suggestions from the Group. I have one child, a daughter, who has chosen not to have children. There are no other males in the family who have an interest in fly fishing. My daughter and sister have no interest...and my one nephew appears to be going in another direction with his dad. Which leads me to something that my dad and I discussed at one time and that is the "legacy" of our passion for fly fishing. It seems so wrong to leave such a collection of fine equipment to those who don't understand it's intrinsic value and are unable to appreciate the legacy that comes with it. Since my dad's death, it has bothered me a lot. I have my own health problems that have been limiting me of late...and I worry. I recall a story by Nick Lyons (a true one, I believe) in which he tells about the death of a fly fisherman. Nick Lyons was called upon by the man's daughter to look over the fly fishing equipment left by her father and determine what, if anything, had value. He did just that...and recalls his first visit to the daughter's apartment where she lived with her boyfriend and children. As he entered the apartment, he saw the kids using the tips from some high quality bamboo rods as "swords" for sword fighting games. It was a sad read as it was obvious that this gal's father was passionate about his fly fishing...and had some very fine equipment. The true value of what he had was lost by the daughter as she was looking to sell it for what she could get out of it in cold cash. While my daughter will love and cherish many of the things I leave her, including my favorite rods, reels etc...it's still not the same. I don't want my favorite rod, for instance, to die the slow death of inertia. I live in a very remote area in California near the Oregon border in a beautiful spot in a forest on the banks of the Smith River. I have thought about finding a young boy/man with a passion for the sport but lacking equipment and/or a "teacher"...and a fly fishing companion. Thoughts? Suggestions? Earlier in my life, I thought that I'd never have too much fly fishing gear. I have now found that you can only use so much...and that most of the old equipment does the job just fine. I have some old bamboo rods that I still love to use...and they are relics of the past now. I have finally stopped chasing technology and have chosen not to buy the "newer, bigger better" mousetrap. Nostalgia and memories are more important to me. My dad's favorite steelhead rod for instance, will always fish better for me than anything I could ever buy. And a sip of Brandy from my dad's old flask will always taste good to me...and I'm really not a Brandy drinker (although I can think of some cold Winter mornings when out steelhead fishing when the warmth from the Brandy kept me fishing a bit longer). I've also found that a well chewed and sparsely tied Gray Hackle Yellow Body will catch just as much as any number of flies that I've tied over the years...if fished correctly. As an aside, I tied flies (commercially during my college days) to sell to fisherman and made them works of art. They sold well. However, my dad tied flies that caught fish. I look at them now and see why...as they are truly "buggy" looking. He tied with a rough hand but he knew what caught fish. Even before his death, on our last fishing trip together when he was 85 years old, he still outfished me. I did everything right...but he caught the fish. I can still recall the twinkle in his eye when he caught the only large trout of the day. He said nothing...but he didn't have to. A photo of my dad catching his last fish is attached...although I don't know if photos can be posted in this Group or not. Again...regarding my roomful of equipment, I don't need most of it...just my favorite rods/reels and the keepsakes. I need to think about what to do with those things I don't need. Besides, it's about the environs in which trout are found and the art of fly fishing...not about having the newest mousetrap. My father found solace from life's stresses in his fly fishing...as have I. Such solace does not require a room full of equipment. I think of most importance to all of us and future generations is the preservation of the environment that supports quiet moments on the stream where memories can be built. We have lost so much over the years in that regard. I grew up on the banks of the Eel River in California and watched the slow demise of that river. It is, by the way, where we'll be scattering my dad's ashes at the end of this month...when he and I fished the Eel using our Halloween Comets (with the long, black marabou tails) and seldom were skunked. I will wade out into the Eel river at the confluence of the Van Duzen, release the ashes of a really good fly fisherman and then cast a line with his favorite steelhead rod. And I will thank him for all that he's given me. Enough nostalgia. What to do with so much equipment is where I started. Maybe a fly fishing club or ?? Barry |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|