I have been thinking about two moments from last season.
Reading the tea leaves..
Even before I caught my first fish or put on a pair of waders for the first time, I read just about everything I could find about fly fishing. I wandered into forums about bamboo rods and watched videos about bucket list destinations. One of the most frequent topics I came across was "hopper" fishing. It took some time for me to realize that hoppers were grasshoppers and that people actually tied big grasshopper patterns.
As the leaves fell in the late fall, I looked forward to catching my first fish on a hopper. There was a pool with a large boulder above it that gave me the chance to watch the fish react to each of my flies. I must have casted a hopper patter about two dozen times. The fish either showed no interest or got spooked by the big fly landing on the water. On one cast, my fly actually got wrapped around a branch above the pool. I had already been there for almost an hour, and in my frustration, I yanked on my rod instead of trying to finesse my fly out of the tree, shaking leaves from the tree with each pull. When I looked down, I saw the fish get into a frenzy as the leaves landed on the water. They were looking for insects..
I waited about ten minutes before grabbing a handful of leaves with my left hand. As soon as I tossed the leaves onto the pool, I watched the fish go crazy again and casted my hopper. That was how I caught my first cherry trout on a hopper.
Last cast of the season..
Before shutting it down for the season last year, I walked to one of my favorite pools and watched the water for a few minutes before seeing a fish methodically sipping flies off the surface. I had already passed the pool earlier in the day and was just checking one last time as I double backed to my car. I crawled down to the water and made one cast. The fly floated past where I thought the fish was feeding, but I waited for just an extra second. He came up at that moment and sipped my fly off the surface. A quick hook set, a full strips of line, and he was right at my feet. But as I reached down with my net, he shook off my hook and swam away.
It's never nice to lose a fish, but it seemed like the appropriate end to my first year. I was able to put everything I had learned on display while reminding myself that there were still lessons to learn and fish to catch.
What's it in?
These moments probably had me feeling much more confident than I should have been at the start of the season. After getting skunked a handful of times, losing some pretty good fish, and finding myself a little frustrated, I have finally collected myself and picked up my form.
Good things come in small sizes
In other news..
I broke my first rod. Hoping that I'll be able to get it fixed by the time I leave for Japan.
Still my favorite rod
And of course.. just a few hours/days away from being a new dad.
Pregnant woman