I went to the PA fly fishing web page and started checking out the fly fishing sites and have a good reason for optimism after reading this neat little greeting on their website. The river names and species may be different but the sentiments are about the same no matter where you run into fly fishermen.
To Get To Heaven, You Can Go By Water By Jim Slinsky In the life of a fisherman a New Year is just about to unfold. A fisherman doesn't recognize January 1 as the beginning of anything. His life revolves around the opening day of trout season. Our compilation of opening days past has shaped the character of the fisherman we are. It is a time of anticipation and a time for reflection. Many of you are old enough to remember the days before no closed season, delayed harvest, or all-tackle anytime you want to go fishing. Most of us remember the days of being shut down through March and waiting with baited breath for the rebirth of our passion and purpose in life. It is as much of a reawakening of our life cycle as it is a date on the calendar. March is talking month and quite similar in emotion to Christmas when we were children. We buy ourselves toys and presents. We tie our flies and replace our line. Some will get out the Brillo and clean the cork handles on their rods. Others will take their reels apart, grease them and rebuild their drags. Tackle boxes will be stacked on kitchen tables and lures will be sprawled out for reminiscing purposes as much as organizational mind-games. We will mumble to ourselves which lures drew vicious strikes and which provided casting practice. We will stick our fingernails with the points of our hooks and try to make scratch marks. This is, after all, what the experts tell us to do to check the sharpness of our hooks. We smile with confidence that if our hooks are sharp, so will we. We don�t miss fish. With uncanny instincts to locate fish and cat-like reflexes even the King-of-the-Lake is no match for us. Yes, it is going to be another great year. In all our preparation for trout season our minds will transcend opening day and ponder the entire season. Will I get to Georgian Bay and pursue world class muskies? They say a man could spend a lifetime up there and never fish the same area twice. I heard there are 50's and even 60's up there that have never seen a lure. Is this the year I fish the Roanoke and catch striper after striper until my arms are so pumped with lactic acid that they burn for two days afterward? Should I concentrate on catching them on top or take the fly rod and go under with Deceivers and Clousers? I�ve heard the bass are on their beds in North Carolina at the same time the caddis are coming off Penn's Creek. Hmmm? Maybe, it's time to go out West. Time to stop looking at pictures and taste the water of the Madison, Yellowstone and Henry's Fork. Maybe, I'll spend the year chasing the hatches. For sure what I will not do this year is make the mistake and put off fishing and allow the petty things in life to disrupt my dreams. Life does pass by quickly and with so much water and so little time, we simply must keep it going. My late father developed the Golden Rule of Weekends, which still guides me. One day we will work and one day we will play was his second favorite saying. His favorite saying was You must listen to me son, because you will not live long enough to make all the mistakes yourself. Don�t worry Dad, I have no intention of not listening. Speaking of my lifelong fishing buddy, this will be another year without his companionship. The emptiness is never really completely gone. It is hard to fish with a man for forty years and overcome his absence in a few seasons. I suppose I will never stop thinking of our seasons together as I hope my son will never stop thinking of our great times together. When my father was on his deathbed, I asked him a very serious question. Dad, if you had to do it all over again, would you do it the same? After about 10 seconds of rapid eye movement he answered. I think I would have not been so concerned about the garage being clean and spent more time with my grandchildren, fishing. Yea, I would have spent far more time fishing. An interesting comment from a dying man. Another season is about to unfold for all of us. I suggest we all heed his advice and not allow the insignificant to rob our precious time left on this earth. To all of you and my father, wherever he may be, I would like to offer my sincerest hopes for a glorious New Year. May your waters run swift and pure, may your presentation be perfect and of course, let there be trout. You can visit Jim Slinsky's web site at: http://www.outdoortalknetwork.com _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com
