Fly fishing has brought me to many different destinations. With each new destination I am usually blessed with the company of a new fishing buddy or at least I am able to meet up with one or two old ones. It has occurred to me that we fishermen tie a lot of knots. No I’m not talking about a blood knot or a nail knot. I’m talking about the knots that we tie in our fishy friendships. Isn’t it amazing that with a few simple twists of our various sized tippets we are able to hold together something so great, say for example a piece of 5x with an 8lb rainbow? It’s the same for my fellow fishermen who share the same passion for fly fishing. We engage ourselves in such simple scenarios like two pieces of tippet strung together by knots. And like most of the knots that I tie on my rig I know that they will undoubtedly come undone, weather it be the unseen log under the surface of a deep pool or at the end of the day when I bite my own flies off.. Most of our friendships are this way, especially when it comes to fishing buddies. Take my friend A.k. for instance. A.k. (a.k.a left right Kenny) who resides back in Genesee NY. Through travels of chasing chrome from Canada to western Ontario creeks we tied many knots together. Whether it was a fight with our girls or skipping out on some homework the knots that we had in our rig could not be bit off. Nothing kept us from fishing not even the hot months of August. In desperation we would make weekend after weekend trips to our favorite steelhead honey holes. It was a full month and a half of fishless days and wasted gas before we hit up the fresh Steele in late September on the one of our favorite steelhead creeks. I’d have to say that whole fall season of steelhead fishing was one hell of a knot. But like I said earlier, all of our knots eventually come undone. This particular knot has been undone as I am now living in Park City, Utah. Like a rock in a shallow river snags my rig I was snagged by Utah. Fly, tippet, split shot, tippet, indicator, fly line and backing. But as we all know when your tackle has been taken in the deep current there’s only one thing to do. Take a timeout and rig back up. Tie a knot here and a dropper there. Before you know it you’ve got your rig back together and are ready to put those knots to the test. It’s the same way with a fishing buddy. So, enjoy the Moments that your rig is complete and your knots are tight. And when you’re sitting on the bank rigging up remember that knots are easy to break and easy tie again.
levey – in my opinion, one of the best fish tales ever posted on fliesandfins.com. i, probably more than anyone, say that “it’s all about the fish” .. on a day to day perspective, it is .. and if i am totally honest with myself, i judge the success of any fly fishing trip based on whether or not i caught fish. i don’t know … maybe it is because at the end of the day; i am a fisherman .. and always have been. So where is this going? Like most people on this site, I have been fishing since my earliest memories. And, thank god, that nothing has changed in regards to when i get on the water .. the whole purpose for me is catching fish. It was like that for me when I was 5,10,20 .. and I hope that never changes. See, I don’t see fishing or even fly fishing as all that “hard” or “complex” … for me, honestly, the enjoyment comes from doing something that is so NOT hard and NOT complex. And, when i go fly fishing … I don’t think about all the HARD problems and complexities that are a reality when i am not on the water. So, for me, fly fishing is relaxing because my mind is focused on such a SIMPLE goal of catching fish. It’s the simplicity of fishing and the simplicity of that goal, that “hooked” me when i was young and continues to “hook” me today. The last thing I need or want is something that degrades the simplicity of that goal.
Ok. So, from a bigger picture perspective, catching fish doesn’t matter to me at all. When I look back at the entirety of my life and countless hours spent fishing; the irony is that I don’t even really remember “the fish”. What I do remember with crystal clarity are all of my surroundings and the people that I have met throughout my fishing journey. I remember the best friends and fishing buddies of my early years spent catching sunfish with bobbers, my early teenage year saltwater fishing buddies and running up and down beaches chasing bluefish and stripers, all of the fisherman i met and spent time with while commercial fishing in on the east coast and in alaska, all my steelhead buddies, trout buddies, albie addict friends .. and so on and so forth. I can remember the people and the characters much more than any of the fish. Some of those friends were merely acquaintences, most of whom I will never see again. Some, I still see once a year or whatever when I fish a certain spot or part of the country or whatever. Some, I don’t see for years but we still talk on the phone or on this site about “fishing”. Some, we would have probably never crossed paths again; but “fishing” is the one thread that holds the friendship together. And some of my fishing buddies now, may or may not be “fishing buddies” to the degree they are now or once were, in years to come .. for any number of reasons. But, one thing is sure … FISHING buddies are different than any other friends I have had throughout my life. The partying or sports or whatever activities connected me to “other friends” throughout my life … somehow never had the ability to connect me with friends the way fishing has … i am constantly re-tying old fishing friendships and tying new ones .. and when i look back over my life .. the most valuable friends i have … are .. without a doubt.. somehow TIED to FISHING.
Great fish tale! I have never really thought of fly fisherman connections that way! But you are completly right….the best friendships come from days on the water with fishing buddies….
Dano…good to see you up on the screen. I digg your story. How true it is about friends. I hope the wild west is treating you well. Take it easy on those trout out there.
joey
Very nice post Dano. I too have met a lot of good fishing buddies throughout the years. When you find the good ones you can always count on them for a trip or two.
after all if you can’t count on your fishiing buudy who the hell can you count on
hows it going Joey. dude I had a blast with you guys at the salmone river last Nov. Hows the fishing been for you, You still Crushing them. I can’t wait for for some wormer weather to hit. Anyways the west is awsome and I’m loving it but, I think you would agree when I say that I really miss all the steelhead action back in the east.
Rock On Dano! Gotta love white hot chrome.