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Fishing. Seems that everything I get involved in, I go head over heels into it. I did fishing the same way. I never even went fishing as a kid. Maybe once, I rode with my father in the boat. But when he went fishing, he wanted to be by himself to unwind I guess, so I did not go much. I started fishing when I was about 30 years old or so. Purchased an aluminum canoe and just took it up. I caught so many fish, I could not give them all away. I learned how to smoke them, and I still could not give them all away. I stored so many in the freezer, I did not have room for other stuff. One day, I took my wife's blender, got all the frozen fish out of the freezer ( mind you, I did this while she was gone), defrosted them and pureed them in the blender. You should have been there. What? You say you could smell it from your house?................ Oh. I just could not bring myself to throw them away, so by going through the process of driving everyone out of the neighborhood, I was able to use the concoction for fertilizer in my corn garden. I got the idea from history books, I think. Something about how the Indians used to do it... I had to string electric fence wire around the garden to keep the raccoons out, but that's another story. The corn grew real well that year, but all the ears had fins for some reason... After that incident, I kind of lost interest in fishing. The best part of fishing, as far as my take on it goes, is the peace and quiet that comes with sitting on a lake early in the morning when all is still, the lake is a mirror, and once in a while you catch a fish. My wife knows me well. She could sense that something was missing. She knew that I needed to get out more. And since I had become bored with fishing, she found a way to rekindle my enthusiasm. She bought a fly-fishing vest for me at Christmas. A fly-fishing vest! I had not even considered fly fishing. But the hook was set, so to speak. I did the research and purchased a pair of fly rods, and all the stuff that went with them, and proceeded to teach myself how to fly fish. You should have seen me. No, on second thought, I am glad you didn't. I went up to the lake on a late January morning, and proceeded to flail about hopelessly. I tied so many knots ( not just to put the fly on, mind you) in the fly line that the taper disappeared. I began to think that I had met my match. I really did not know if I would ever get the hang of it. You know, I'm a guy. Me ask for instructions? Haaaaa! I figured with enough books and time, it would come. And it did. But it was a tough row to how, if your casting around for a cliché. I know this guy that comes around to sell us supplies at the shoe store. His name is Al. We got into a conversation one day, and I was telling him about my fly-fishing adventures. He then told me about how, when he was a kid, he used to mow lawn for a gentleman that was really into fly fishing. After the man passed away, his wife asked Al if he would like to have all the fly tying gear the man had. Well, Al did not fly fish, but not being one to look a dead bug in the mouth, so to speak, he graciously accepted the gift of all this fly tying stuff. Which he proceeded to store away in his closet for about 25 years or so. And then we had the conversation I have referred to earlier, at which time Al offered to sell me the stuff. Now keep in mind, I had no idea how to tie a fly, or what the stuff looked like, or how much it costs, or anything. It just sounded like something interesting, so I said, "Hey sure, why not?" Al brought the stuff down on his next trip to Medford. A large box with all kinds of bird remnants, bits of thread, plastic bag full of odd looking eyeball things. A real menagerie. I purchased the whole box for $20. Al was happy. I was happy. I was happier still, when I found out what I had purchased. There was probably $400 worth of items in that box. A very good buy. Thanks Al. Now, years later, I still fish. I like to cast. I like to fly fish. I like to troll. Tying flies in the winter on a day that's not fit to go outdoors is a good pastime. Don't fish as much as I used to, but I do like to get out. I don't sit in the boat in the pouring rain as I did in the past. And I hardly ever keep a fish anymore. Catch and release is a way of life for me now. I am just out for the fresh air, and I'm not into making puree.
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