Ah, Just Spring...

When a young man’s fancy turns to love.
And an old man’s fancy turns to fishing, fly fishing to be exact. With the first days above 50 degrees and the emergence of the first few stoneflies, the spirit of the fisherman is awakened from the slush of winter into a world of green spring, rippling creeks and shady, deep-water holes where dwell the big fish.
Researching new waters has been the project of the week; buying and reading maps, calling tackle stores for tips on the proper flies and expected bug hatches, looking for the right equipment and planning the first trip. All these things raise the anticipation the way the first warm breeze anticipates the season’s change.
A friend asked why I get so involved in fly fishing, I think she used the word “obsession”, although I prefer the word “focus”. I really hadn’t thought much about the why before then. I mean, it was just something fun, and excuse to get outside, connect with nature in an increasingly stressful and artificial world. But I know it is more than that. Maybe it is an escape from the indifference we face in an disturbingly apathetic society into a world where only one thing makes sense, the Zen of just being on the water.
But more important -I know- fly fishing is an art and craft, like music, where no matter what level or how long one is involved in it; there is always something new, fresh and valuable to learn.