Fly-Fishing Literature

For me it all began with a River Runs Through It. Watching the movie on VHS turned into reading the book turned into buying 5 different copies turned into half my vocabulary when fishing with my friends. I even did my Senior Project in high school on the history of fly-fishing which took me all the way back to 1653 and Walton's "The Compleat Angler". Literature and fly-fishing have always been soldered together for me.

My love for fly-fishing literature helped to create a habit of purchasing and stacking up a collection of mostly unread books. When I was a teenager, before anyone had heard of Amazon, I was ordering books on the subject from the far corners of the internet on sites I don't even remember. Browning, Duncan, Gierach -  Got em all. And I actually read some of the Gierach. Then I hit an age where going to shows, meeting girls and reading Kerouac and Bukowski seemed more appealing. The fish would always be there.

Now at 33, I find myself more and more returning to the person I was when I was 17. The fringe details of our culture seem less intriguing and nothing seems to get the pulse rate going like the action (or even the thought) of stepping into the unexplored and hurling a clump of feathers into the drift. I hope that this pattern also leads to wiping the dust off the old collection of books and finally giving them the attention they've earned.

The Weather Outside Was Frightful

Well, it is not officially winter yet but I am already tired of winter. Here in western WA, Old Man Fall has not been kind to us with a seemingly constant pelting of wind and cold-ass rain. I am sure Mr. Winter will be picking right up where his brother left off. Obviously, the influx of moisture is welcomed in this area after last summer's record breaking forest fire season but that doesn't make it any easier to endure. All I can think about is fly-fishing lately. Why is it that weeks of Heavenly summer weather can pass by and the thought of my favorite hobby never crosses my mind but when the damp, bone-numbing cold arises it's all I can think about?

I realized that I never did post anything about the big Idaho fly-fishing trip last summer. The Lochsa didn't produce quite like it has in the past for us, which may have been due to soaring temps and low water but we worked a little harder and managed to hook onto some nice trout. It was one of those trips when soaking in the river with a cold beer brought just as much satisfaction as landing a 16-incher as the temps easily passed 90 every day. We still had a great time and the staff at the Lochsa Lodge was incredible to us. What I would give for a sunburn on the Lochsa right about now..

I am not afraid to admit that I am no expert when it comes to fly-fishing. I have probably spent more time around it between reading, researching and actually fishing than any other endeavor in my life (other than drinking) and still I feel uneasy saying I've surpassed "Greenhorn" status. Somehow I have reached 32 years of age without having ever fly-fished during the winter months. My goal for the winter is to find some trout streams in the area that are open year-round to fish if they exist. Will post my progress when I get there.

Buster Wants to Fish

Well, here it is. As millions have written before, this is the inaugural post, the maiden voyage, etc. I'm not even sure why I finally decided to start doing this thing, it's like my inner-self won a long standing battle and ordered my fingers to get to work. I had a realization recently that at the time seemed passing but hasn't actually passed and is starting to feel like it never will. No hobby, job or project I have ever undertaken has given me greater joy and fulfillment (even spiritual) than fly-fishing. The only things that can enhance a day of fly-fishing are good music and beer - preferably, but not necessarily quality beer. In my experience, there is no better source than the Northwestern United States to find any of these three commodities. Welcome to my free space in cyberspace owned by Google where I write about understanding my life's purpose if such a thing exists.