Fly Fishin’
Recently I became interested in a new sport: fly fishing. I was reading a book by John Eldredge called “The Way of the Wild Heart” and he told a story about fly fishing. That’s all it took to peak my curiosity. I started reading about it online and eventually sent an email to a guy my age who had attended my bible study group a few months back, Captain Jeff, a professional fisherman. Jeff was excited about my interest in the sport and offered to teach me the basics. Last Saturday afternoon we met at a park with a good fishing lake. He taught me how to cast, and I must say it was very cool. It’s like cracking a whip back and forth and then trying to nail a target with it. I really enjoyed it and we even caught some fish.
One of the fish we caught was a large mouth bass. I really like how they fight and jump out of the water as you pull them in. My brother and I used to catch one every now and then out at the lake during the summer. I remember my cousin Andrew catching a pretty nice small mouth as well. We always fished with a typical rod, reel, hook and sinker. Our bait was the good old earth worms we hunted for with flash lights the night before.
Now with the fly rod, it had a very different feel. It almost felt more like hunting. Scan the lake for activity; a fish jumping or popping, a group of frantic minoes, or some movement by some weeds. Then you try to put your fly right in the perfect spot. Once you do that you pull a little line in and stop. Wait a second. Then pull some in and stop. I was amazed how natural it looked, like a water bug dancing on the top of the water. And then… WHAM! A large mouth bass hammers it, but misses. Whoa! That was great! And then, WHAM! Another one from the other side. This second fish isn’t so lucky, as it is hooked and caught. Of course Jeff released it back to the lake, but I kind of had to appreciate that.
After that experience, I thought about it a few days and decided to get myself a pole. Jeff offered to help me pick one out. So yesterday we went to the Bass Pro Shop and I got myself a nice Temple Fork combo: pole, reel and fly line. I am really excited to go back to the lake this weekend and see how it goes. Here’s hoping to the start of a new lifelong hobby, and perhaps the start of a new friendship. Hopefully I’ll have some pictures of fish to post on here soon.